Saudi Arabia blasts Netanyahu's call for Palestinian state on its land
In
a scathing response, Riyadh says Palestinians 'are not intruders who
can be expelled whenever the brutal Israeli occupation wishes'
Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in front of a map of the Middle East
at the Government Press Office (GPO) in Jerusalem on 4 September 2024
(AFP/Pool/Abir Sultan)
Published date: 9 February 2025
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.
"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".
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".