Washington: US President Donald Trump has surprised everyone by making a statement. He made a controversial statement about the US occupation of the Gaza Strip. Apart from this, he also said that Saudi Arabia has never demanded a Palestinian state. Trump wants to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel in his second term. Joe Biden also made efforts in this direction, but the talks derailed due to the Israel and Hamas war on 7 October. However, Saudi Arabia has now clarified Trump's statement. Saudi Arabia said that in any deal, the status of a Palestinian country or steps related to it are necessary.
On Tuesday, Trump said the Saudis had made no such demands. When asked if Saudi Arabia had demanded a Palestinian state, Trump said 'no, they did not'. When asked again if the Saudis had demanded at least a path toward statehood, Trump said 'everyone is asking for the same thing - peace.' Within hours, Saudi Arabia issued a statement rejecting Trump's statements. The statement said there would be no normalization of relations with Israel without a Palestinian state. This is not a new position that the Saudis have just adopted, but it has been their position for years.
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What did Saudi Arabia say?
In a statement, Saudi Arabia said there would be no agreement with Israel until an independent Palestinian state is created with East Jerusalem as its capital. The statement said Saudi Arabia maintains a 'firm, unwavering' commitment to the Palestinian state. To clarify the Saudi position on the issue, the statement in Arabic referred to a speech by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, in which he said that 'the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not stop its relentless efforts towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel.'
Saudi also furious over eviction from Gaza
Regarding Trump's proposals to move Palestinians out of Gaza, it was said that Saudi is committed to a Palestinian state according to the 1967 borders. The statement emphasized the “categorical rejection of any form of infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people”, whether through Israeli settlement policies, occupation of Palestinian land, or efforts to a displace Palestinian people from their land.
Last year, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said no agreement with Israel was “on the table until we have a solution for a Palestinian state”. As Israel has repeatedly tried to separate regional peace initiatives from the Palestinian issue, Faisal said if the issue is not addressed, we are setting ourselves up for a continued cycle of violence that benefits no one but the extremists.
