Salman stresses support for Palestine despite of crown prince remarks

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has emphasized the kingdom's support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The king's remarks, made in a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Monday night, came after his son and heir apparent said that Israelis have the right to their own state.

"The king has asserted the necessity of advancing the Middle East Peace process as part of international efforts and highlighted the kingdom's long-standing position towards the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to the creation of an independent state with Al-Quds [Jerusalem] as its capital," Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Tuesday.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman commenced a two-and-a-half week visit to the United States on March 19.

When asked in an interview with US magazine The Atlantic whether he believed the Jewish people have a right to a nation-state in at least part of their ancestral homeland, he said, "I believe that each people, anywhere, has a right to live in their peaceful nation."

"I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land," he said. "But we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations."

His comments are rare by an Arab leader.

Saudi Arabia, a top US ally in the Middle East, has no formal diplomatic ties with Israel, which declared statehood in 1948 and captured Arab territories in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Both Saudi Arabia and the US view Iran as a major threat to global security.