Saudi Arabia appoints first ambassador to State of Palestine

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and HRH Crown Prince have appointed Nayef bin Bandar Al-Sudairi, Ambassador to Jordan, as on-resident ambassador to the Palestinian Authority and Consul General in Jerusalem consul-general in Jerusalem.

The step was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority as reaffirming Saudi commitment to support founding a state in the territories occupied by Israel in a 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Saudi Arabia, Islam's birthplace, has championed the Palestinian cause and shunned official ties with Israel but the U.S. is seeking to promote what could be a historic Middle East deal that would include normalizing Israeli-Saudi relations in return for major Israeli concessions to the Palestinians.

Riyadh has previously conditioned recognition of Israel on Palestinians' statehood goal being addressed.