Peloni: In the wake of Smotrich’s diplomatically injurious camel statement about Saudi Arabia, he followed up with an important criticism regarding Saudi Arabia’s reported demands for normalization. While normalization between Jerusalem and Riyadh will benefit the future of Israel, it is simultaneously required for the fulfilment of MBS future vision for Saudi Arabia as well. Like all relationships, the pursuit of normalized relations with KSA requires diligence, hard work, but most essentially, mutual respect. In this regard, the point about mutual respect, Smotrich’s camel comment was egregiously poorly chosen, but so too were the demands which are reported to include the creation of a new Palestinian state by KSA. Importantly, what Smotrich should be stating, as well as Bibi and the entire Right wing govt and many among the opposition as well, is that there is already a Palestinian State, that it was envisioned by the British, ripped from the intended Jewish homeland in the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine in the form of what is now described as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, but is in fact the Palestinian state which MBS demands to be created by re-shorning even more from the Jewish people than the 78% on which Jordan already sits. Where are the Israeli statesmen who can accept this fact? Where is the Israeli commentary to remind the world that Jordan is Arab Palestine, and that the Palestinians already occupy a majority in that nation and are responsible for the economy, such as it is, of that wretched realm, which is held by a line of foreign potentates to satisfy the colonialists who are now supporting Riyadh’s call for creating yet a second Arab Palestinian state. Jordan is the Forgotten Palestinian State. Let us remind the world of this fact.
Israeli finance minister doubles down on criticism amid tensions over normalization conditions.
Israfan | October 28, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reignited tensions with Saudi Arabia on Monday, accusing the kingdom of denying Jewish heritage and tradition during a press conference at the Knesset. The comments came amid growing controversy over Riyadh’s reported preconditions for normalizing ties with Israel.
“Saudi Arabia denies our tradition and our heritage,” Smotrich declared during a Religious Zionist Party faction meeting. The statement echoed his earlier criticism of the Saudis, when he controversially said they should “keep riding camels in the Saudi desert” if they condition normalization on the creation of a Palestinian state.
Although Smotrich issued a partial apology last week admitting that his words were “not successful” and expressing regret for any offense caused he maintained his core argument. “I expect the Saudis not to harm us and not to deny the heritage, tradition, and rights of the Jewish people,” he said in a video posted on social media.
Smotrich’s tone on Monday made clear that the apology did not represent a full retraction. “We have survived 77 years without Saudi Arabia, we can survive 77 more without it,” he added defiantly, pushing back against both external and domestic critics.
The finance minister also criticized Israeli figures who expressed offense on Saudi Arabia’s behalf. “These incidents are a thousand times more insulting than an ill-advised comment by a finance minister,” he said, arguing that Saudi calls for a Palestinian state represent a direct denial of Jewish historical and religious claims to Judea and Samaria.
“When Saudis discuss a Palestinian state, they deny our heritage, our tradition, our history, the Bible… Judea and Samaria is at the heart of Judaism and Jewish history,” he told reporters.
While emphasizing that Israel believes in peace, Smotrich insisted it would not accept normalization “at any price,” particularly not at the cost of national sovereignty or historical truth. “Nobody is doing us a favor by normalizing ties and joining the Abraham Accords,” he said. “We will not agree to any nation setting conditions related to Israel’s territorial integrity.”
Smotrich also referenced the ongoing conflict in Gaza, warning that peace efforts must not be allowed to distract from the war’s unresolved objectives. “The deal’s real test is its implementation,” he said. “The State of Israel will not allow Gaza’s rehabilitation while Hamas is yet to be dismantled.”
His comments come at a delicate diplomatic moment, as U.S.-brokered talks continue to explore the potential for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords. While normalization between Jerusalem and Riyadh would represent a seismic shift in regional alliances, Smotrich’s remarks underscore that segments of Israel’s leadership remain deeply wary of any deal perceived to compromise Jewish historical claims or national security.
Peloni, there is one major problem with Jordan. Virtually nobody there wants to befriends with Israel. Culturally it is an enemy state. It would take a generation or two of occupation and deprogramming to change that mentality.
Now Saudi Arabia is 100 times larger than Israel. Why don’t they allocate 1/3 od 1% of their kingdom for the PIP ( Palestinian International Parasites).
Make a PIP republic and autonomous part of KSA. And let the leftards of the world support the poor Palestinians.
@Vivarto
Recall that these are Jordanian citizens who were ripped of their citizenship which i s a recognized criminal offense under international law. We could send these Jordanians to Siberia, split them among many nations, or send them to some wasteland to live out their Jew Hating days, but there would be no legal basis for doing so, and the host country would need to be compliant in accepting a population which is well schooled in the art of insurrection, which is ideologically aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, and who command the respect of the people of the Arabs in many nations. KSA won’t accept these people who should be recognized as revolutionary Muslim Brotherhood Jordanians for many reasons, but most of all because they represent everything which MBS has tried to irradicate in his own nation, and in any large numbers, these revolutionary Muslim Brotherhood Jordanians would represent a threat to the stability and vision of MBS’ intended future for KSA.
Beyond this, we should recall that KSA is a powerful nation, one which commands significant resources and geopolitical control over much of the Muslim world. Would we really want to place millions of radical Jihadists in a position in which they might weild any influence over the local population in KSA or to command in any way even the slightest influence over the leadership in KSA? I would argue that this is a very bad idea for all of these reasons.
A similar explanation might be made with regards to sending them to war torn Libya, Somaliland and other nations which have been suggested. The best place to send them, or to allow them to emmigrate, IMHO, is Jordan, where they could be situated in an invisioned city, built specifically in mind to house this population in total, where the local regime could exercise a specific policy to monitor and regulate against the Arab Palestinian affinity for calling for Jihad, where the right of free speech could be limited to exclude such radical actions or calls for Jihad, and where there lies a credible argument that they actually already have a legal basis for belonging.
We could discuss this further, so if anyone has further comments on this subject, I believe it is important to discuss this topic thoroughly.
https://youtu.be/7Vg_QVAEJtg?si=T0bguTZIAcrs2R-a