ISTANBUL

Saudi Arabia said it is ready to normalize relations with Israel based on the 2002 Arab initiative proposal for peace.

In an interview with the Riyadh-based Arab News daily, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, the kingdom’s permanent representative to the UN, said Riyadh is committed to the Arab Initiative for peace, which calls for the end of the Israeli occupation of all Arab territories occupied in 1967 and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in return of normalizing ties with Israel.

"The official and latest Saudi position is that we are prepared to normalize relations with Israel as soon as Israel implements the elements of the Saudi peace initiative that was presented in 2002," Al-Mouallimi said.

He added that once implementing the initiative, Israel will have recognition "not only from Saudi Arabia but the entire Muslim world, all 57 countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation."

“Time does not change right or wrong. The Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is wrong no matter how long it lasts," the diplomat said.

Last month, Israeli media reported that a delegation of some 20 American Jewish leaders had visited Saudi Arabia and met with senior officials there, including at least six government ministers and senior representatives of the Saudi royal house in an effort to review possibilities of establishing ties between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly reiterated its commitment of the Arab parameters for peace with Israel expressed in the 2002 Saudi-proposed Arab Initiative.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar