Saudi Arabia has rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that Saudi land could be used for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In a recent interview, Netanyahu suggested the Saudis could create a Palestinian state, saying they have “a lot of land over there.”
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that Riyadh “stresses its categorical rejection to such 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.”
The ministry said that the Kingdom “affirms that the Palestinian people have a right to their land, and they are not intruders or immigrants to it who can be expelled whenever the brutal Israeli occupation wishes.”
Saudi Arabia has also strongly rejected President Trump’s calls for the US to “take over” Gaza and his claim that it would normalize relations with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state. In its statement rejecting Netanyahu’s comments, the Saudi Foreign Ministry reiterated its support for a two-state solution.
The ministry also thanked “brotherly countries” for condemning Netanyahu’s suggestion since it received widespread denunciation from other Arab states.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that it “condemns in the strongest terms the irresponsible and totally rejected statements issued by the Israeli side, which incite against Saudi Arabia…in direct violation of Saudi sovereignty and a flagrant violation of the rules of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.”
According to Israeli media, the Israeli military has “serious doubts” about the feasibility of Trump’s plans for Gaza since Palestinians don’t want to leave despite the mass destruction and due to the strong opposition of the regional Arab states.
