U.S. envoy: Israel-Saudi normalisation needs Gaza quiet, discussion of Palestinian rule

Forging formal Israeli-Saudi relations as part of an emerging trilateral deal involving Washington would require a calming of the Gaza war and a discussion of prospects for Palestinian govenance, the U.S. envoy to Jerusalem said on Tuesday.

"There's going to have to be some period of quiet, I think, in Gaza, and there's going to have to be a conversation about how do you deal with the question of the future of Palestinian governance," Ambassador Jack Lew said.

"My view is, that strategic benefit is worth taking the risk of getting into that conversation about. But that's a decision that the government of Israel will have to make and the people of Israel will have to make," he told a conference hosted by the Israel Democracy Institute think-tank.