Israel can normalize relations with Saudi Arabia in the near future, outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid told the Knesset, urging his successor Benjamin Netanyahu to follow the basis his government laid for such a deal, Jpost reported.

"We started a dialogue with the Saudis to allow, in its first phase, for Israeli plans to fly over Saudi Arabia and to allow Israeli citizens direct flights to Mecca during the Haj," Lapid said.

"We did more than that. We laid down the foundations for Saudi Arabia to fully join the Abraham Accords," he explained. "If the new government will follow the path we laid out, it is possible to normalize ties with the Saudis in the near future," he said.

In the Knesset on Thursday, before Netanyahu's government was sworn in, Lapid summarized the performance of his government, in which he also served as foreign minister.

What did Netanyahu say?

Netanyahu talked about the possibility of an Israel-Saudi deal, in addition to the normalization agreements he reached with four Arab countries in 2020 under the auspices of the U.S.-brokered Abrahamic Accords.

Addressing the Knesset, Netanyahu said he wants more normalization agreements with countries in the region, explaining that he wants to "widen the circle of peace" and "end the Israeli-Arab conflict."

Lapid said that his government has strengthened Israel's ties with the countries of the Abrahamic Accords, especially the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, where embassies have opened.