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- Saudi Arabia says it's still interested in normalizing relations with Israel, despite the war in Gaza.
- That's a huge blow to Hamas.
- One of Hamas' main goals for the war was to turn Israel's neighbors against it.
When Hamas militants attacked Israel in October, one of their main objectives was to derail diplomatic talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
And it worked — for a few months.
But now, Saudi Arabia says it still wants to normalize ties with Israel. That means one of Hamas' biggest goals for the war may end in failure.
The Saudi ambassador to the UK, Prince Khalid bin Bandar, told the BBC on Tuesday that his country's leaders "absolutely" would like to reach an agreement with Israel, which it doesn't recognize as a sovereign state.
Prince Khalid also told the BBC that before Hamas launched its October 7 attack, a deal "was close" between his country and Israel. Any deal would have to include Palestinian independence, and that hasn't changed, he said.
"So, while we still — going forward after 7 October — believe in normalization, it does not come at the cost of the Palestinian people," Prince Khalid said.
The ambassador's remarks came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Arabia's ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the region on Monday.
Blinken told reporters in a post-meeting press conference that "there's a clear interest here in pursuing" a deal.
"But it will require that the conflict end in Gaza, and it will also clearly require that there be a practical pathway to a Palestinian state," he said.
Israel and Saudi Arabia have had a tense relationship since the creation of the Israeli state in 1948. Establishing formal diplomatic relations between the two countries would be a massive shift in power for the region.
But Hamas opposes the two countries' burgeoning relationship. A deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia would erode Iran's power in the region, and Iran is a key supporter of the militant group.