Israel and Saudi Arabia are “close” to a “historic” deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today from the UN platform that the Palestinians do not have the right to exercise a “veto” regarding Israeli-Arab relations.

Recalling the normalization of relations with third Arab countries in 2020, which he called the “dawn of a new era”, Netanyahu said that “we are close to an even more spectacular progress, a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia”.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman he also recently stated in an interview with the US television network Fox News that the Sunni monarchy and the Jewish state are “coming closer every day” to a normalization of their relations.

“Such a peace could do a lot to end the Israeli-Arab conflict, encourage other Arab countries to normalize their relations with Israel, increase the possibilities of peace with the Palestinians,” Netanyahu said today.

Nevertheless “I don’t believe we should give the Palestinians a right to veto new peace treaties with the Arab states.”, he emphasized in his speech at the UN General Assembly. “Palestinians could greatly benefit from a broader peace. They need to be part of that process.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned yesterday, Thursday, also from the floor of the General Assembly, that there will be no peace in the Near and Middle East without taking into account the “legitimate rights” of his people, namely the implementation of a two-state solution. “Those who think that peace can prevail in the Middle East without the Palestinian people enjoying all their legitimate national rights are mistaken,” he charged at the start of his speech.