coverage for 45 years. here is a highlight from a key moment. >> something else i saw firsthand, it wasn't a surprise to me, but it was the outpouring of love from you, my colleagues, both republican and democrat. i know that right after the shooting we were practicing on the republican side, the democrats were practicing, too and my colleague and friend and sometimes archrival in baseball from back home in new orleans, unfortunately the start of the game too many times, cedric richmond somehow figured out which hospital i was send to and got there, probably the first person there on the scene in his baseball uniform to check on me. so many others of you,, again, both republican and democrat reached out in ways that i can't express the gratitude of what it means to me, jennifer and her whole family. it really does show the warm side of congress that very few people get to see.

announcer: c-span, powered by cable. ♪ if you ever miss any of c-span's coverage, you can find it anytime online at c-span.org. videos of key hearings, debates, and other events feature markers that guide you to interesting highlights. these "points of interest" markers appear on the right side of your screen when you hit play on select videos. this timeline tool makes it easy to quickly get an idea of what was debated and decided in washington. scroll through and spend a few minutes on c-span's "points of interest." ? >> joined by the spokesperson for the embassy of saudi arabia. welcome to the program. guest: good to be with you. host: i want to start with the role saudi arabia is playing in the desk in the cease-fire negotiations between israel and hamas. guest: let me start by widening the lens a little bit. saudi arabia has been clear and

consistent for years the late king abdullah presented what is known as the arab peace initiative in 2002 and the arab summit in beirut, offering israel full normalization not just with saudi arabia but all members of the league of arab states in return for a comprehensive peace with the palestinians. the kingdom has an very clear in the current crisis in its policies. we have asked and advocated for an immediate cease-fire, the release of hostages and delivery of humanitarian assistance. going forward however we still need to get the talks back on the political track and chart a clear and irreversible pathway to a two state solution. this is what we've been advocating for years and we really do see it as the only sensible way forward. host: can you explain that there

would be normalization between saudi arabia and israel for a just and comprehensive peace and you're talking about a two state solution. what are the details there because that's where everything really gets hung up. guest: ultimately they will have to be worked out between the israelis and palestinians. we have long argued for the middle east region to enjoy any semblance of peace and prosperity and stability this view has to be resolved. it's resolved in so much pain and suffering to both sides but it's also been exploited by the most militant elements in the region. so we really need to resolve this to be able to have peace and stability. >> can you talk about the humanitarian aid saudi arabia is offering to palestinians? guest: we have sent i believe at least 30 plane loads of

assistance and maybe three ships worth of assistance. most of it goes through egypt so we are providing assistance through land, air and sea. this is critical because the conditions in gaza are unacceptable. not only do you have the destruction of gaza, there is clear indication a good portion of the people who have been displaced are on the verge of famine and that obviously cannot continue so we are doing everything we can to alleviate the suffering of this place. >> are you going through unrwa or are there other organizations you work with because there's been issues with hamas taking that aid. guest: we are working with organizations on the ground. unrwa is one of the boat we are also working with the red cross and a lot of organizations based in egypt as well. host: we will take your calls

for the saudi embassy spokesman, the lines are by party. democrats 202-748-8000. republicans 202-748-8001. independents 202-748-8002. this is an article in arab news with the headline saudi arabia warns israel against targeting gaza's raw file. there has already been a targeting in raw for. what is the response of the saudi government and what are you willing to do in response to this incursion into rafah? guest: following israel's onslaught against gaza and the aftermath of the october 7 attacks. saudi arabia convened a summit in riyadh of leaders of arab majority muslim countries. the summit created mirrors -- ministerial committee that has

been traveling the globe advocating for the three conditions we have mentioned earlier, immediate cease-fire, and the release of hostages. we really do not see a way forward without those conditions and those things happening immediately. the suffering ongoing in gaza is not acceptable and will certainly not lead us to where we need to get to. >> i want to ask you about the murder in 2018 of washington post journalists, all khashoggi in turkey. u.s. intelligence has concluded it was your crown prince, mohammad bin salman that approve that operation. what is the response of the saudi government to that. guest: well, we've rejected that assessment. the murder of jim all khashoggi

was a heinous crime. an egregious front to our values and laws. a clear violation of our laws. the people behind it were arrested and prosecuted and are doing long prison sentences. i think it's important to keep in mind if you look at our history we have never had anything like that happen because it's simply not how we resolve our differences. it is not who we are. we've taken some additional measures to make sure it hasn't -- does not happen again. it really shouldn't define us as a nation or people. it is not who we are. host: a new york times article with this headline saudi's overwhelmingly opposed ties to israel according to a poll, the results reveal hurdles to the administration's push for saudi arabia's established emetic relations with israel. i want to ask about your public desire or is this would show a lack of desire for ties with israel and how much support

hamas has among your population. guest: i have not seen the results of the pole. we have a very clear vision for saudi arabia called vision 2030 it was unveiled by the royal crown prince. the vision basically is a vision to empower our youth, to empower our women and entrepreneurs. it does seek to transform saudi arabia into a regional tourism destination, a logistics destination so we have a clear vision. we are well on our way in terms of implementing that. we have a vision for the broader region and believe our neighboring countries in the region also put up the resources on the greatest assets which is there people that the region can be transformed. israel could become part of this vision. there is no reason why the middle east cannot enjoy peace and prosperity and we cannot

have people and goods and services traveling in trade so israel could be part of the vision that we have with the region. but for the time being for that to happen we really need to resolve this dispute and the measures israel has taken, the targeting of civilians, the killing of thousands of civilians, reducing gaza to ruins is certainly not the way forward. >> have any talks with israel about normalization of ties have been gone -- ongoing or have they been put on hold or stop completely as a result of october 7. guest: our talks have been with the united states. long-term we have a clear vision for ourselves in the region. we do need this dispute resolved and the way forward is a two state solution. for now we need an immediate cease-fire. host: jess is calling from new

york, independent. caller: in response to the question about mr. khashoggi that this was an aberration and not who you are. i'm looking at the amnesty international website and him finding a tremendous number of political prisoners have been tortured for nothing more than criticizing the government and expressing their opinions on women's rights. i could go through this but i would ask everyone to simply go to the amnesty international website and look up saudi arabia. everyone can see the people in prison for nothing more than expressing their opinion. host: let's get a response. guest: the protection of human rights is integral to who we are, integral to our faith and

values. we are signatories to dozens of human rights conventions and agreements the protected rights of women and elderly people, children, people with disabilities, people with special needs. we have a human rights condition the raises awareness on the importance of protecting human rights so it raises awareness about the responsibilities of employers on the rights of workers. host: in response to jeff's question, are you saying there are no political prisoners in saudi arabia? guest: we have institutions in saudi arabia, they may not be the same institutions as the one you have here but they have served us well. we have a way for input to be provided into the decision-making process. we have a consultative council initially established in 1990.

it has 150 people. it has including 30% women. so this is all our institutions are undergoing reform and evaluation. we take care of our people, we have a wide social safety net in saudi arabia. we have free education, health care. just as an example and i hope the shines a spotlight on what we value in saudi arabia. during covid not only did we provide saudi citizens with free health care and treatment we even provided all residents including those in violation of our immigration policy and that is an indication of what we value human rights. host: joanna is a democrat in germantown, maryland. caller: good morning. i have a comment to make. i feel whether in gaza or in tel aviv, all children deserve to

live. all children deserve to live. and frankly, i'm a mother with children. i am sick of these men, i am sick of hamas, netanyahu, beating their chest and who suffers from this. namely the children. i wish children could be a priority. it upsets me so to see whether it is israeli children or the palestinian children it hurts my heart to see what's going on over there. this is what's missing is children are not being put first. host: looks like we lost her. any comments? guest: the images of suffering especially the children and women in gaza have been heartbreaking so we sympathizing we are doing everything we can to end the suffering but ultimately we need this conflict

resolved once and for all. host: republican, good morning. guest: -- caller: i'm very concerned about israel. host: in what way? israel has been in war for years -- guest: israel has been -- caller: israel has been in war for years prayed a lot of people don't read the bible. and i feel sorry for the jews over there. because those are god's people and we ought to understand that we have to take care of god's people. >> your thoughts, this is a very religious issue for a lot of people in the region. is there a solution to this conflict? >> we certainly hope so and we think so. the solution is for the two

state solution is the way forward meaning to states living side-by-side in peace and security. we believe the current campaign of israel in gaza is not going to ensure israel security but we have long felt israel deserves that sense of security but -- host: when you say a two state solution what are your thoughts on who leads the palestinian people certainly in the short term there's an issue of who's in the lead gaza. >> our engagements are with the palestinian authority. we don't decide who leads people anywhere so certainly not israel. we sometimes get this question about how you feel about the

netanyahu government, that's outside of our control. what we believe is the way forward is to states living side-by-side in peace. saudi arabia has long supported the rights of palestinian staff their own sovereign state. we have provided economic assistance to them over the years and we've been very clear and consistent and at some point there's no need to reinvestigate. i think the two state solution is the only sense of the way forward. host: a democrat in burnsville, maryland. caller: good morning. i don't think this guy represents all the muslim countries, they are doing the same thing in syria and yemen. they are killing the children and talking about peace right now. they should be ashamed of what they are doing like one of the

callers said, no one is talking about the children. they all have self interest that they are thinking about. if we talk about the muslim world, who has done more for palestine we can talk about iran than saudi arabia or even standing up, in simple words you have to be a human being -- you do not have to be a muslim. i don't think saudi arabia represents like a peacemaker in the region. thank you. guest: i respectfully disagree. i think saudi arabia is often -- we have a good track record in that regard. we played a role in -- we played

an important role in ending the conflict with rich rea. we offered to mediate between russia and ukraine. we have provided billions of dollars as the caller mentioned. yemen alone we provided $70 billion in humanitarian assistance. in the form of food, medicine assistance. even oil derivatives and exports and we are helping yemen on its way to recovering from the war. also providing billions of dollars to syrian refugees and displaced people. we are trying everything we can to assist not just our neighbors but assist the international community the kingdom adheres to a set of principles when it comes to conducting foreign policy that has made it uniquely

positioned to play the role of honest broker. we believe very strongly in the political resolution in gaza and we believe in the importance of crating an open channel of dialogue and communication. we support collective efforts and crisis revolution and we support internationally recognized state institutions. we oppose nonstate actors and this is the reason many countries around the world in the region and beyond to look to saudi arabia to lead and resolve a lot of the disputes and conflict in the middle east. we think we're doing our part in that for sure. >> the national security advisor jake sullivan had said the biden administration would not sign a dissent agreement with saudi arabia if the kingdom and israel did not agree to normalize relations. >> they go back 80 years not only have they endured for 80 years but they continue to

strengthen and to deepen and to broaden both democratic and republican administrations. the relationship is multidimensional including political cooperation a number of fronts, military cooperation including regular military training but also military operations. the level of trade in goods and services which is value at $40 billion on an annual basis support 160,000 jobs right here in the united states. there's also an important people to people dimension to the relationship so i think the last figure i saw was 70,000 americans living and working in saudi arabia. at least 30,000 saudi students in the united states. this is a multidimensional relationship that only continues to grow and deepen over the years. in continuing to grow and to

deepen going forward. host: a lot more to say but we are out of time. announcer: coming up tonight on c-span secretary raimondo testifies on the president's wanted 25 budget was followed by marjorie taylor greene offering a motion to remove representative mike johnson as our speaker, leading to a house is built to kill the request. an actress and singer sits down with vice president kamala harris to discuss with the buy demonstration is done for women's health care. that and more coming up tonight on c-span. thursday the senate banking committee holds a hearing to examine the impact of hidden fees and financial services and rental housing that had extra cost to consumer's monthly bills. watch the hearing live at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now, or online at c-span.org.

announcer: c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> you think this is just a community center? it is way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with the passing community centers so students from low income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. announcer: comcast supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. ♪ announcer: c-span has been delivering unfiltered congressional coverage for 45 years. here are some highlights from key moments. >> something else i saw firsthand was not a surprise to me, but it was the outpouring of love from you, my colleagues, both republicans and democrats. i know right after the shooting,

we were practicing on the republican side and the democrats were practicing too, and my colleague and friend and sometimes archrival in baseball, unfortunately the star of the game too many times cedric richmond somehow figured out which hospital i was sent to, and got there, probably the first person there on the scene in his baseball uniform to check on me. so many others of you, both republican and democrat reached out to ways i cannot express the attitude and how much it means to me, jennifer, and our whole family. it really does show the warm side of congress that very few people get to see. announcer: c-span, powered by cable. announcer: u.s., secretary gina raimondo testified on the president's 2020 five budget request before house appropriations subcommittee. she also answered questions on artificial intellige