*RIYADH: Saudi King Salman has responded over the brutal killings of thePalestinians at hands of Israeli Forces in Gaza. *

*He reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support for a Palestinian state after his sonand heir apparent said Israelis were entitled to live peacefully on theirown land – a rare statement by an Arab leader.*

The king also emphasized the need to advance the peace process in a phonecall with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday night, made after Israelisecurity forces killed 16 Palestinians last week during a demonstrationalong the Israel-Gaza border

King Salman reaffirmed “the kingdom’s steadfast position toward thePalestinian issue and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to anindependent state with Jerusalem as its capital”, state news agency SPAsaid on Tuesday.

The report did not refer to the comments by Crown Prince Mohammed binSalman in an interview published on Monday by U.S. magazine The Atlantic,which are the latest public sign that ties between Saudi Arabia and Israelmay be growing closer.

Asked if he believes the Jewish people have a right to a nation-state in atleast part of their ancestral homeland, Prince Mohammed was quoted assaying:

“I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have theirown land. But we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability foreveryone and to have normal relations.”

Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel. It has maintained for years thatnormalizing relations hinges on Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands capturedin the 1967 Middle East war, territory Palestinians seek for a future state.