Cairo - Saudi Arabia's King Salman has emphasized the kingdom's
support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state
with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The king's remarks, made in a phone call with US President Donald
Trump on Monday night, came after his son and heir apparent said that
Israelis have the right to their own state.
"The king has asserted the necessity of advancing the Middle East
Peace process as part of international efforts and highlighted the
kingdom's long-standing position towards the Palestinian cause and
the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to the creation of an
independent state with Al-Quds [Jerusalem] as its capital," Saudi
Press Agency (SPA) reported on Tuesday.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman commenced a two-and-a-half week
visit to the United States on March 19.
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When asked in an interview with US magazine The Atlantic whether he
believed the Jewish people have a right to a nation-state in at least
part of their ancestral homeland, he said, "I believe that each
people, anywhere, has a right to live in their peaceful nation."
"I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have
their own land," he said. "But we have to have a peace agreement to
assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations."
His comments are rare by an Arab leader.
Saudi Arabia, a top US ally in the Middle East, has no formal
diplomatic ties with Israel, which declared statehood in 1948 and
captured Arab territories in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Both Saudi Arabia and the US view Iran as a major threat to global
security.