AGENCIES

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Saudi Arabia had enough land to provide the Palestinians with a state.

“The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there,” he said in a Channel 14 interview on Thursday.

When questioned about a Palestinian state as a condition of normalisation, Netanyahu said he “would not make an agreement that would endanger the State of Israel.”

However, shortly after the press conference, the Saudi foreign ministry said it would not discuss ties with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state, reports The Jerusalem Post.

Meanwhile, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) urged the international community and “all donors” Thursday to help feed millions of Gaza civilians and rebuild the war-ravaged area.

The UN agency said it had provided more than 15,000 tonnes of food since a fragile January 19 ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, feeding more than 525,000 people, but that much more needed to be done, reports AFP.

“We call on the international community and all donors to continue supporting WFP’s life-saving assistance at this pivotal moment,” said Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau following a visit.

“The scale of the needs is enormous and progress must be maintained. The ceasefire must hold,” he said in a statement.