Saudi Arabia’s newly appointed envoy to the Palestinian Authority presented his credentials to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during his first visit to the West Bank on Tuesday, a trip linked to American efforts to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

The visit by nonresident ambassador Nayef al-Sudairi, who also serves as the Saudi ambassador to Jordan, is widely seen as an attempt by the kingdom to address the key sticking point in the Saudi-Israeli normalization deal — Saudi Arabia’s long-standing support for the Palestinians. The Saudi government has said it will only normalize ties with Israel if there is major progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state.

To kick off his two-day trip, the Saudi diplomat met with Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority that exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank, and other senior Palestinian officials.

“G-d willing, this visit will be just the beginning of things to come, with the coordination of senior Palestinian officials who are architects of our relations,” al-Sudairi told journalists after meeting with Abbas.

But several obstacles to such an agreement remain. The Saudis are seeking a defense pact with the United States and want help in building their own civilian nuclear program, which has fueled fears of an arms race with Iran.

Saudi Arabia also wants Israel to grant at least some kind of concession to the Palestinians in the West Bank, which Israel captured along with east Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war.

On Tuesday in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, al-Sudairi reiterated the kingdom’s position in support of the creation of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

(AP)