Jerusalem CNN —Saudi Arabia has appointed its first ambassador to the Palestinians, in a move that comes amid talks with the United States over a possible deal to normalize relations between the Gulf kingdom and Israel. Palestinians maintain that the eastern part of the city should serve as the future capital of a Palestinian state. All members of the Arab bloc, including Saudi Arabia, recognize Palestinian statehood and the kingdom maintains a Palestinian embassy in the capital Riyadh. The move comes amid reports of a normalization deal in the works between Saudi Arabia and Israel, with the Unites States involved in the rapprochement. Miller’s comments came after a Wall Street Journal report saying that the US and Saudi Arabia had agreed on the “broad contours” of a normalization deal.

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