Netanyahu told Knesset panel Saudis, UAE will pay for Gaza reconstruction: Report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a panel in the Knesset that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would fund the reconstruction efforts of Gaza after Israel completes its war against Hamas, the Times of Israel reported on Monday.

“The first step in Gaza will be to defeat Hamas. After that, I believe that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will support the rehabilitation of the Strip,” Netanyahu said, in remarks the Israeli news site said were later leaked to some few Hebrew-language media outlets.

Neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia has publicly said that they would be willing to foot the bill for Gaza's reconstruction.

The report also stated that Netanyahu believed that Israel could build on the normalisation agreements it signed with several Arab countries in 2020.

He specifically said he would continue to pursue a deal with Saudi Arabia, and use it to gain support for the reconstruction efforts in the enclave.

Prior to 7 October, the US under President Joe Biden had for months been working on getting Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalise ties.

But since the war in Gaza began more than two months ago, Riyadh has put the talks of normalisation on hold.

Last week, US energy envoy Amos Hochstein said he didn't think hope should be lost with regards to normalisation of relations between the two countries and it remains a goal for Washington.