MBS: We will assist in helping the Palestinians establish a state

T. Belman. This is very disturbing. When MBS  set out his demands for normalization to the US, Palestine was not one of them. MBS now appears to have upped the price for normalization by saying “We will not delay in providing assistance to the Palestinian people in recovering their lands, restoring their legitimate rights and establishing an independent state within the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Hopefully it is not a precondition for normalization but a pledge to afterwards, assist the Palestinians in getting a state within the ’67 borders.

Amid reports of push for normalization with Israel, Saudi Crown Prince stresses importance of “Palestinian issue”.

By Elad Benari, INN    19.5.23

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday once again stressed the importance the kingdom places on a Palestinian state.

Speaking at the Arab League summit taking place in the country, bin Salman said, according to Channel 12 News, “The Palestinian issue was and still is the main issue of the Arab countries and is at the top of the kingdom’s priorities. We will not delay in providing assistance to the Palestinian people in recovering their lands, restoring their legitimate rights and establishing an independent state within the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who attended the summit, said that “commemorating the Nakba at the UN refutes the Zionist narrative.”

In addition, he called on the Arab countries to turn to the International Criminal Court over the “Israeli occupation” and charged, “Israel violates the signed agreements and UN resolutions and adheres to the colonial Zionist project which is based on the continuation of the occupation, ethnic cleansing and apartheid.”

Haaretz noted that, in a statement summarizing the summit published after its conclusion, the members of the Arab League reaffirmed their support for the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which stipulates that 22 Arab countries will normalize ties with Israel in return for an Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria.

Israel to date has rejected the 2002 Saudi proposal due to the fact that it calls for Israel to accept the so-called “right of return” for millions of descendants of Arabs who fled pre-state Israel, effectively bringing an end to the Jewish state.

The Saudi Crown Prince’s remarks come amid reports that the White House wants to make a diplomatic push for a Saudi-Israeli peace deal in the next six to seven months.

The statements are in line with what Saudi officials have said in the past – that a Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital is a prerequisite for Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel.

(Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)

May 21, 2023 | 7 Comments »

Leave a Reply

7 Comments / 7 Comments

  1. @PELONI
    the JINSA article (Jan 5, 2023) is what I wanted.

    THE OBVIOUS follow-up question we asked: Isn’t progress on the Palestinian issue a prerequisite for normalization? The answer we got was an unequivocal “no,” followed by a vivid description of a Palestinian leadership incapable of making peace with Israel for fear of being killed by its own people.

    The Saudis will continue to press for a solution, but the Palestinian track is now separate from the normalization track. The latter will no longer be held hostage to the former, provided the Saudis can get what they need from the United States.

    Upon our return to Washington, I confirmed that what JINSA heard on normalization was consistent with the message that the Saudis had directly communicated to the White House.

  2. If the Saudis want peace, let us have peace, but if they want a new piece of our lands, let them pound sand. Israel has a need for partners, but acquiring such partnerships should not come at the cost of inviting existential threats against our people. The TSS is dead. Let us not revive it in any form for any price. The cost of seeing it die has been far too great to be leveraged against normalization with Riyadh, which is an important policy objective, but all things must be maintained in the proper perspectives. If this report of a return to the TSS being a new requirement for Saudi normalization is true, it is simply a bridge too far and a request too great to accept or even contemplate. Again, if we are to have peace, let us have peace, but if we are to barter as to the value of Saudi support at the price of reigniting the TSS, let us wait for a better deal or have none at all.

    1

  4. I hope Israelis veto this completely. This would be insane. Israel doesn’t need America that badly. It’s America that needs Israel.

  5. Netanyahu would reportedly suspend plans for annexing the West Bank in exchange for a Saudi deal as well. Dec 22, 2022.

    Incoming prime minister’s right-wing bloc reportedly would not stand in the way of his efforts to normalize relations with Riyadh

    Kushner: Netanyahu axed annexation in exchange for triple normalization.. 31 Jul 2022

    CAN ANYONE FIND THE ARTICLE IN WHICH THE LETTER FROM MBS SETS OUT THE 4 CONDITIONS WHICH DID NOT INCLUDE THE PALESTINIAN ISSUE?

  7. When MBS gave a letter to the US setting out 4 preconditions to normalization, Palestine was not one of them. The recent remarks by MBS which were delivered at the Arab Summit did not add to the list. He merely said that he would continue to assist. Words are cheap.