Saudi journalist, Syrian NGO chief take part in Israeli Knesset talks

Saudi and Syrian nationals took part in a session of the Israeli Knesset on Wednesday, amid continued attempts at normalisation of relations between Israel and Arab countries despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

They were identified as Abdul Aziz Al-Khamis, a well-known Saudi journalist who has been critical of Hamas and Iran, and Shadi Martini, a Syrian former hospital director and the CEO of the Multifaith Alliance NGO.

Their trip to Israel coincided with another visit by Arab and Muslim imams and sheikhs based in Europe.

The imams met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who has been accused of incitement against civilians in Gaza.

Al-Khamis and Martini took part in a session of "The Caucus to Promote A Regional Security Agreement", a new Knesset grouping focusing on normalisation with Arab states as well as security cooperation.

After the conference, Khamis spoke to the Jerusalem Post, advocating a regional peace deal as soon as the Gaza war ended.

"If [the] Gaza war finishes and there is a peace deal and some stable solution, we will go to the next step with the Americans to do a peace deal for the region," he said.

He said though that Iran would try and stand in the way of this, accusing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Al Khamenei of "loving war and wanting war to continue" but saying that there was a "change in the Iranian mentality and they have come to the table" following the recent Israeli attack on Iran.

Khamis, however, was also critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The Americans and Saudis have the same interest – a two-state solution. The problem is Netanyahu," he told The Jerusalem Post.

Khamis also added that Israel had “unprecedented military dominance, regional deterrence, and - after Iran’s setback - a window of strategic leverage,” but said that it had to allow the creation of a "demilitarised" Palestinian state as a “bare minimum” for peace in the region.

Syrian ‘normaliser’ attends the Knesset

 The Syrian participant in the session, Samer Martini, was previously involved in a “Good Neighbours” project in southern Syria, which Israel started during the Syrian conflict to gain influence in southern Syria.

After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Israel proceeded to occupy areas of southern Syria adjacent to the Golan Heights, which it captured in 1967, and has carried out frequent further airstrikes and incursions in Syria.

There have been indirect talks between Syrian and Israeli officials focused on security in recent weeks, as well as reports of direct talks, some of which have been denied by the Syrian government, amid speculation about an upcoming normalisation deal.

However, Israel has ruled out any return of the Golan Heights to Syria, and it appears that it will be politically impossible for any Syrian administration to accept a normalisation deal in this case.

However Martini claimed that he had met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa a few weeks ago, with Sharaa saying that the current situation was an “opportunity of once every 100 years” to reach peace.

The Knesset Caucus to Promote a Regional Security Agreement is chaired by members of the Israeli parliament from opposition parties, including the Democrats, Yesh Atid, and Blue and White, who are often seen as more moderate than the current government.

However, Yair Lapid, a former Israeli prime minister and the head of Yesh Atid, said that Israel could only come to an agreement with the Syrian president “if he drops the issue of the Golan Heights”.