Palestinians important issue for Saudi-Israel normalisation talks, Blinken claims

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has claimed the Palestinians are an important part of talks on possible normalisation between Saudi Arabia and Israel, after Israeli officials suggested this was a "non-issue" for Riyadh.

Blinken, who made the comments during an interview on the podcast Pod Save the World, said: "[It was] clear from what we hear from the Saudis that if this process is to move forward, the Palestinian piece is going to be very important."

He reiterated that a future Palestinian state is "clearly something important for the Saudis" as part of these normalisation talks.

"Normalisation… cannot be a substitute for Israel and the Palestinians resolving their differences and having a much better future for Palestinians and in our judgement, of course, that must – needs to involve a two-state solution," he said.

His comments run counter to remarks made by members of Israel's hard-right government that have alluded to the issue of a two-state solution as being irrelevant.

Saudi Arabia has consistently said that normalisation with Israel hinges on the future of a Palestinian state. Israel opposes a two-state solution based on 1967 borders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously stated that the issue of a Palestinian state was merely a "checkbox" that needed to be ticked in negotiations. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has also made similar remarks, with more hardline members of the government such as far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declaring that "we won't make any concessions to the Palestinians, it's a fiction".

Earlier in September, members of the Palestinian Authority (PA) travelled to Riyadh to shore up support for an independent Palestinian state in the event of a Saudi-Israeli normalisation deal.

The PA also presented a list of demands to the US in exchange for Palestinian involvement in the normalisation process.

This has seen Blinken conduct intensive shuttle diplomacy between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Blinken further reiterated his support for a deal between the two states, saying that such a deal would "advance a world that's a little bit more peaceful, a little bit more prosperous, a little bit more full of opportunity".