Israeli President Isaac Herzog pushed for progress on normalisation between his country and Saudi Arabia in a rare interview with the Riyadh-based channel Al Arabiya aired on Thursday.
"It is my dream to see peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia. I have great respect for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman," Herzog told the state-owned broadcaster, referring to Saudi Arabia's de facto leader.
"The thing that we want most in Israel is to see rapprochement between the nations," he added in the interview, which took place in Jerusalem.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia was engaged in tentative talks on normalisation, but it abruptly pulled out as the war in Gaza erupted.
Arab sentiment towards Israel hardened during the war, launched in response to the Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 2023 attacks.
More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza according to its health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
Saudi officials have repeatedly said they will not recognise Israel without a path to an independent Palestinian state, which Israel's current government opposes.