Saudi Arabia rejected U.S. calls for diplomatic overtures toward Israel on Wednesday, blaming settlement expansion with jeopardizing efforts to revive peace talks. "It is Israel that has to move seriously towards the peace process," Saudi foreign ministry spokesman Osama Nugali told AFP. "As we all know, Israel is continuing to take unilateral measures by changing the geographic and demographic facts on the ground, by building settlements and expanding the existing ones.”
Nugali said that Israeli settlement expansion “on occupied Arab land continues to impede any progress toward a lasting two-state solution between the Palestinians and Israelis.”