Israel's president says normalization with Saudi Arabia would be 'a gain against Hamas'

ISTANBUL

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Saturday that Tel Aviv's normalization efforts with Saudi Arabia would be "a gain against Hamas."

Herzog said at the Munich Security Conference that one of the objectives of the attacks by the Palestinian resistance group on Oct. 7 was to disrupt "normalization talks" between Tel Aviv and Riyadh.

"Therefore, continuing with Saudi Arabia would be a clear gain against what Hamas has done," he said.

Herzog announced that he had a meeting with Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Sani on Friday, and noted that Al Sani said he was "making significant efforts for the return of the captives."

He stressed that Tel Aviv did not know where the Israeli captives were or their conditions, and urged a swift resolution to ensure their safe return home.

Israel's Channel 13 television announced that a delegation of Israeli officials would travel to Qatar next week to get a new prisoner exchange agreement signed.

A delegation including the Mossad chief, Shin Bet Director and Nitzan Alon, the official overseeing kidnapped and missing persons in the Israeli army, attended meetings in Cairo on Feb. 13 with representatives from the US, Qatar and Egypt.

The New York Times reported that lower-level officials would continue indirect talks in Cairo for three more days after the initial discussions failed to produce an agreement.