RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Palestinian officials welcomed a first Saudi Arabian ambassador on Saturday, they said, in a show of support even as the Gulf kingdom is considering the prospect of establishing formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

Saudi Arabia, Islam's birthplace, has championed the Palestinian cause.

At a ceremony in Jordan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's diplomatic adviser Majdi al-Khalidi received a copy of the credentials of Ambassador Nayef Al-Sudairi as a non-resident envoy, official Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

The move was "an important step that will contribute to further strengthening the strong brotherly relations that bind the two countries and the two brotherly peoples," al-Khalidi said, according to Wafa.

Palestinian analyst Talal Okal said the diplomatic appointment was a half-step toward an official Saudi representation office in the occupied West Bank.

"It is also a message Saudi Arabia was committed to the rights of the Palestinians in a fully sovereign state," he added.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Ali Swafta in Ramallah, Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Hatem Maher in Cairo; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)