Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned comments by Israel‘s prime minister, in which he suggested that a Palestinian state could be established on Saudi territory.
On Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu said during an interview with Israel’s Channel 14: “The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there.”
As a string of countries condemned the remarks, including Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iraq, the kingdom’s foreign ministry said it “appreciates the condemnation, disapproval and total rejection announced by the brotherly countries towards what Benjamin Netanyahu stated”.
In a statement published on Sunday morning, Riyadh said it categorically rejected statements that “aim to divert attention from the continuous crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are subjected to”.
“This extremist, occupying mentality does not understand what the Palestinian land means to the brotherly people of Palestine and their emotional, historical and legal connection to this land,” it said.
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“And it does not think that the Palestinian people deserve to live in the first place, as it has completely destroyed the Gaza Strip, killed and injured more than 160,000, most of them children and women, without the slightest human feeling or moral responsibility.”
Since the war began on 7 October 2023, Riyadh has re-emphasised its position that it would only forge ties with Israel if a Palestinian state is established with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The foreign ministry said on Sunday that Palestinians have a right to their land and “are not intruders or immigrants to it who can be expelled whenever the brutal Israeli occupation wishes”.
It added that proponents of “extremist ideas” have prevented Israel from accepting peaceful coexistence and have systemically practised injustices towards Palestinians “for more than 75 years, with disregard to the truth, justice, law and the values established in the United Nations Charter, including the human’s right to live in dignity on his land”.
The statement concluded by reiterating the kingdom’s position that lasting peace would only be achieved by “peaceful coexistence through the two-state solution”.
#Statement | The Foreign Ministry affirms that Saudi Arabia’s position on the establishment of a Palestinian state is firm and unwavering. HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister clearly and unequivocally reaffirmed this stance. pic.twitter.com/0uuoq8h12I
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) February 5, 2025
The strong statement puts further distance between Saudi Arabia and Israel after they appeared to be edging closer towards normalising ties over a year ago.
The topic of Saudi-Israel normalisation was discussed by Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in Washington last week, with the Israeli premier insisting that it would become a reality.
“It is not only feasible, I think it’s going to happen,” Netanyahu told reporters.
However, the press conference was quickly followed by a statement from Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday, which said its stance on Palestinian statehood was “firm and unwavering”.
“Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” it said.
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), called Netanyahu’s comments about a Palestinian state on Saudi land “a violation of international law and international conventions”.
“We affirm that the State of Palestine will only be on the land of Palestine, and we appreciate the positions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its leadership and people, which always call for the implementation of international legitimacy and international law,” Sheikh said on Saturday.
Egypt described the comments as “irresponsible”, adding that “the security of [Saudi Arabia] and respect for its sovereignty is a red line that it will not allow to be violated”.
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