US will work for two-state solution and will not agree to Israel's annexation of Palestinian lands, says envoy

Gulf Today Report

The US ambassador to Israel, Thomas Richard Nides, said that the US administration does not agree to Israel's annexation of new lands.

According to Israeli media outlet, Ynet, the US ambassador stressed that the United States is very interested in preserving the two-state solution, adding, “I have received assurances that Netanyahu will maintain the status quo on the Temple Mount.”

The American ambassador made it clear that despite the right-wing government, the policy of the United States is still full support for the two-state solution.

"Our vision is very simple — we want to keep the two-state solution alive," he said. "To protect the Palestinian citizens without compromising their security. We have always believed that the two-state solution is good for Israel's security, and we will not do anything to harm this security."

With regard to the Iranian file, the US ambassador added, “We will work with Netanyahu on the Iran file because of its importance to our common security.”

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia will not normalise ties with Israel in the absence of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, the kingdom's top diplomat has said.

The comments by Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed normalisation with Saudi Arabia in talks with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem on Thursday.

"True normalisation and true stability will only come through... giving the Palestinians a state," Prince Faisal told the summit.

Saudi Arabia is a close partner of the United States but it has repeatedly refused to normalise ties with US-ally Israel due to its occupation of Palestinian territories.