STORY: First Saudi ambassador to Palestine arrives in West Bank
DATELINE: Sept. 27, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:32
LOCATION: RAMALLAH, Palestine
CATEGORY: POLITIC

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the official Saudi delegation's arrival in Ramallah
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): RIYAD AL-MALIKI, Palestinian Foreign Minister
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): NAIF BIN BANDAR AL-SUDAIRI, Non-resident ambassador to Palestine
4. various of Ramallah

STORYLINE:

The first Saudi ambassador to Palestine Naif bin Bandar Al-Sudairi arrived in the West Bank on Tuesday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

It said, leading an official delegation, Al-Sudairi, the non-resident ambassador to Palestine and non-resident consul general in Jerusalem, presented his credentials to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidency headquarters in Ramallah.

Al-Sudairi's arrival comes amid Israel's efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): RIYAD AL-MALIKI, Palestinian Foreign Minister
"For us, this is a historic moment in these distinguished relations between Saudi Arabia and Palestine. We are very happy to have the ambassador in Palestine, and we believe that this step adopted by the Saudi king is a permanent step that brings us very close as two countries and two peoples and reflects the historical relations that bind the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the State of Palestine."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): NAIF BIN BANDAR AL-SUDAIRI, Saudi ambassador to Palestine
"Soon I will meet with President Mahmoud Abbas to convey the greetings of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in order to present my credentials as ambassador to the State of Palestine and a consul general in Jerusalem."

During their meeting, Abbas welcomed Al-Sudairi and said his visit to Palestine and his appointment as Saudi ambassador to the State of Palestine would contribute to "strengthening the strong fraternal relations that bind the two countries and the two brotherly peoples."

Earlier in the day, Al-Sudairi told reporters in a statement that "the Arab Peace Initiative is the basic point in any upcoming agreement," after being asked about the fate of the initiative in the event of reaching a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

The Arab Peace Initiative was launched in 2002 after it was drafted by Saudi Arabia and adopted by the Arab League.

The initiative calls for an end to the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the normalization of relations between Israel and Arab states, in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the areas it gained since 1967 and proper settlement to the issue of Palestinian refugees.

The Palestinians demanded the establishment of an independent state alongside Israel in all of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967, including the entire West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Saudi ambassador also confirmed that his country intends to open a consulate in East Jerusalem soon.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ramallah, Palestine.
(XHTV)