JABAR EKSPRES – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Wednesday (Sep 20) that his kingdom is moving toward an agreement to restore relations with Israel.

“Every day, it’s getting closer,” he said during an interview with Fox News television.

Bin Salman dismissed reports that the process of establishing ties between the two sides has stalled because the Israeli opposition refuses to make a deal with the Palestinians.

He said that negotiations are progressing well.

Read more: Six Countries Compete for Asian Roundnet Championship in Bali

“We hope this will ease the lives of the Palestinian people, and make Israel one of the players in the Middle East,” Bin Salman said.

The Saudi government has insisted that any deal to build relations with Israel would include increased efforts for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Such a deal has so far been rejected by Israel, while the Israeli government continues to expand Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Israel and Saudi Arabia are Iran’s competitors in the Middle East region.

Bin Salman said that if Iran must have nuclear weapons, then “we must too.”

Israel remains the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons, but has repeatedly refused to confirm, as part of a policy of strategic ambiguity.