SAUDI Arabia reacted swiftly and sternly to US President Donald Trump’s pledge to “take over” the Gaza Strip, reiterating no normalisation deal with Israel will occur until Palestinians receive their own independent state.
“The establishment of the Palestinian state is a firm, unwavering position,” the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a lengthy statement on X on Wednesday.
“His Highness [Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman] has affirmed this position in a clear and explicit manner that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances.
“His Highness stressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that.”
Trump said on Tuesday the US would take over the war-ravaged enclave after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere and develop it economically into the “Riviera of the Middle East“. He was speaking at a joint news conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s move contradicts numerous Saudi Arabian statements over the years stressing the kingdom’s commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative, which proposes diplomatic recognition of Israel on the condition a Palestinian state be established.
Other Arab nations reacted uneasily to Trump’s controversial pronouncements.
Jordan’s royal court said in a statement: “His Majesty King Abdullah II stresses the need to put a stop to [Israeli] settlement expansion, expressing rejection of any attempts to annex land and displace the Palestinians.”
A Qatari official said it’s far too soon to discuss who should control Gaza with a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel still in its preliminary stages.
“We know there is a lot of trauma with the Palestinian side when it comes to displacement. However, again, it’s too early to talk about this, because we don’t know how this war will end,” Majed al-Ansari said.
