No Diplomatic Relations with Israel without Palestinian State – Saudi Crown Prince

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman. (Photo: US Department of State, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Addressing the Shura Council, the Saudi Crown Prince strongly condemned Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people.  

The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Wednesday that his country will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel until an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is created.

“The kingdom will not stop its tireless work to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and we affirm that the Kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” Bin Salman said.

Addressing the Shura Council, the Saudi Crown Prince strongly condemned Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people.  

“We reiterate the kingdom’s rejection and strong condemnation of the crimes of the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinian people, ignoring international and humanitarian law in a new and bitter chapter of suffering,” the Saudi Crown Prince added.

‘Our Firm Position’ on Any Normalization with Israel – Saudi Arabia

Bin Salman extended his appreciation to all the countries that recognized the Palestinian state as the “embodiment of international legitimacy”, urging other countries to take the same step.

He also voiced his country’s position in cooperating with “all countries in the international community”, to protect “humanity and preserve its civilized values”, which according to the Crown Prince will ensure a “better future based on cooperation between countries and people.”

“Fruitful cooperation between peoples, between countries and peoples, respect for the independence and values ​​of countries, and adopting the principle of good neighborliness and non-interference in their internal affairs,” the Saudi Crown Prince stressed.

To Normalize or not to Normalize

Since the start of the Israeli genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip on October 7, the Saudi Kingdom has repeatedly said that it will not normalize relations with Tel Aviv until the two-state solution is implemented.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is a close partner of the US but it has repeatedly refused to normalize ties with US-ally Israel due to its occupation of Palestinian territories.

‘No Normalization Unless ..’ – Saudi Foreign Minister Highlights Vision for Peace in Palestine

The US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020 saw the kingdom’s neighbors – the UAE and Bahrain – establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.

The deals were widely rejected by Arabs who saw them as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.

In May, The Guardian reported that Saudi Arabia is pushing for a Middle East plan with the United States that would exclude Israel in the face of Tel Aviv’s insistence on prolonging its genocidal war on Gaza.

According to the British newspaper, the US and Saudi Arabia have drafted a series of agreements pertaining to security and technology sharing, initially intended to coincide with a broader Middle East resolution involving Israel and Palestine.

However, due to the ongoing war in Gaza and the Israeli government’s steadfast opposition to a Palestinian state, along with its potential offensive in Rafah, Saudi Arabia is reportedly advocating for “a more modest plan B, which excludes the Israelis.”

Overwhelming Saudi Majority Rejects Normalization, Supports Resistance – Poll

A poll conducted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on December 21 of last year has revealed that a stunning 96 percent of Saudi citizens think that “Arab countries should immediately break all diplomatic, political, economic, and any other contacts with Israel, in protest against its military action in Gaza.”

The poll was conducted from November 14 to December 6 on a representative sample of 1,000 Saudi citizens.

(The Palestine Chronicle)