Saudi Arabia interested in Israel normalisation deal despite 'deplorable' Gaza war: Report

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the UK, speaking to the BBC, said that the country is still interested in normalising relations with Israel after the war in Gaza.

Any normalisation deal must also lead to the creation of a Palestinian state, said Prince Khalid bin Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to the UK. 

A deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia was close before 7 October, said Bandar. 

Despite the "deplorable" casualty figures in Gaza, the kingdom was still interested in establishing ties with Israel, said Bandar, however this would not "come at the cost of the Palestinian people," he added. 

Speaking about the Israeli government, Bandar said: "The problem that we have today with the current government in Israel is there is an extreme, absolutist perspective which does not work to achieve compromise and therefore you are never going to end the conflict.

"The unprecedented level of the violence that has been carried out by both sides - but in particular by what is meant to be a responsible state in Israel - over the past three months, I don't think I have seen anything like it in my life," he said. "The numbers are deplorable, absolutely deplorable," he added.