Israeli Finance Minister's controversial comment on Saudi Arabia - "Ride camels in the desert, we will move forward"

Israeli hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has taken a dig at Saudi Arabia, saying that if relations with Saudi Arabia are conditional on the establishment of a Palestinian state, Israel will not agree to that proposal. He said in sharp terms, "Saudis, keep riding camels in the desert, and we will continue to develop ourselves."

The Times of Israel reported that Smotrich said in a speech, "If Saudi Arabia tells us - normalize relations in exchange for a Palestinian state, then no, thank you. We will not accept that offer."

The comment came at a time when US President Donald Trump will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House in November. It is expected that the issue of normalizing Israeli-Saudi relations will be an important topic of discussion at the meeting.

Saudi Arabia has long signaled that it would only normalize relations with Israel if East Jerusalem is part of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders is implemented. But Israel’s right-wing Netanyahu government and its minister, Smotrich, are staunchly opposed to the proposal.

Meanwhile, Smotrich’s controversial comments have sparked a storm of criticism across the country. Opposition leader Yair Lapid X (formerly Twitter) wrote, “The ministers of this government are using inflammatory and harmful language on social media instead of moving towards an agreement that could change the future of the Middle East.”

Lapid added, “I want to make it clear to Saudi Arabia and our friends in the Middle East: Smotrich does not represent the State of Israel.”

Yair Golan, leader of Israel's left-wing Democrats Party, also said, "Instead of building relations with Saudi Arabia, the Netanyahu and Smotrich governments are growing closer to Hamas in Gaza and Qatar."

Smotrich's comments are being called "harmful and provocative" for Israel's diplomatic position in the international arena. According to observers, this could further complicate efforts to normalize Israeli-Saudi relations.