Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has sparked outrage after declaring that if the price of normalisation with Saudi Arabia was the establishment of a Palestinian state, "they can keep riding camels on the desert sands".
Smotrich's comments came as Israeli media reported growing signs of a US-backed rapprochement between Riyadh and Tel Aviv tied to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan.
Speaking on Thursday at a conference organised by the Israeli daily Makor Rishon, Smotrich, who heads the far-right Religious Zionism party, said: "Sovereignty [over the occupied West Bank] is the real test. If Saudi Arabia tells us normalisation in exchange for a Palestinian state, then the answer, my friends, is no thank you - keep riding camels on the desert sands, and we will continue to develop economically and socially, and with all the great things we know how to do."
His remarks came shortly after the Knesset gave preliminary approval to the so-called "Sovereignty Law", which seeks to apply Israeli sovereignty to the occupied West Bank. The vote passed despite American pressure and in direct contradiction to Saudi Arabia's position, which conditions normalisation on the establishment of a Palestinian state or at least a clear path toward one.
Smotrich, who is of Eastern European origin and has a history of anti-Arab incitement, said Israel must "cut the false link between relations with Arab states and the lie called the Palestinian people, cause, or state".
He added that Israel should instead pursue peace "with those who know how to live with that reality", saying there was "great potential to expand the Abraham Accords".
His remarks came as Israel Hayom daily published a report claiming that the normalisation track between Saudi Arabia and Israel had continued quietly despite the Gaza war and ongoing regional instability.
Citing US officials, the newspaper said Washington expects a "genuine and sustained breakthrough" in Saudi–Israeli relations within the next year, possibly before Israel's upcoming elections in October 2026.
Communications between the two states, it added, were "continuing quietly at several levels".
A senior Israeli official quoted in the report praised the United Arab Emirates as "Israel's true Arab friend", noting that it had maintained commercial flights to Tel Aviv throughout the war on Gaza, while providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza in coordination with Israel.
The paper said both the UAE and Saudi Arabia hold a unified position that Gaza's reconstruction will not be possible while Hamas remains in control, though both have pledged to fund humanitarian projects and rebuild civilian infrastructure.
According to a senior American diplomat cited by Israel Hayom, the rapprochement was "not a matter of speculation but a natural outcome of geopolitical reality and intertwined economic interests".
The diplomat added that "what should have happened long ago will happen soon", pointing to continued encouragement from the Trump administration.
The report also said that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman views closer cooperation with Israel as a key component of his Vision 2030 programme, which seeks to diversify the Saudi economy through partnerships in technology, defence, and energy - areas where Israel has established expertise in innovation, cybersecurity, and financial technology.
The crown prince is reportedly seeking a defence pact with the United States that would include indirect security coordination with Israel against Iran and its regional allies, including Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis.
Israel Hayom claimed that during the June 2024 conflict between Israel and Iran, Saudi helicopters had intercepted Iranian drones heading toward Israeli airspace in a gesture described by the paper as "quiet but significant assistance".
According to intelligence documents cited by the newspaper, both Iran and Hamas had sought to derail the normalisation process. One of Hamas's objectives in its 7 October 2023 attack, Israel Hayom said, was to sabotage growing ties between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.
While that goal temporarily succeeded, the return of Donald Trump to the White House had revived momentum. Quoted in the report, Trump said he had received "explicit interest" from senior Saudi officials in joining the Abraham Accords, adding that Saudi participation "would likely prompt other Arab and Muslim states to follow suit".
Direct communication between the two governments had already reached an advanced stage by September 2023, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the UN General Assembly was broadcast on Saudi television for the first time in an unprecedented move that the paper described as "a clear signal of warming ties".
Although the Gaza war disrupted progress, Israel Hayom said the process had "not stopped". Saudi Arabia, while condemning the 7 October attack, has since adopted a more measured tone toward Israel and remains interested in continuing talks within a renewed framework aligned with Trump's regional plan.
The report concluded that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE view regional stability as a shared economic and strategic opportunity, with cooperation with Israel across technology, security, energy, and education sectors potentially marking the beginning of a new era in Middle East relations.