Netanyahu Says Palestinians Should Establish A State in Saudi Arabia

The Israeli Prime Minsiter has suggested that Palestinians should establish a state in Suadi Arabia rather than in their homeland.

In another dismissal of Palestinians’ right to self-determination, Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14: “The Saudis can create a Paelstinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there”

His statement is also the latest slap in the face of the normalisation process with Riyadh, which had just condemned a US proposal to displace Palestinians.

Slamming the suggestion, the Saudi Foreign Ministry accused Netanyahu of attempting to “divert attention” from Israel’s ongoing “crimes” in Gaza, including “ethnic cleansing”.

Middle East Eye reports: The remarks come as Saudi Arabia and Israel seem even further away from normalising relations, over a year after officials in the US said an agreement was close.

Riyadh repeatedly said over the past year that only a clear pathway towards Palestinian statehood would lead it to establish formal ties with Israel, but Netanyahu rejected the idea outright on Thursday, calling it a “security threat to Israel”.

“Especially not a Palestinian state,” he said. “After October 7? Do you know what that is? There was a Palestinian state, it was called Gaza. Gaza, led by Hamas, was a Palestinian state and look what we got.”

The interview took place while Netanyahu was on an official visit to the United States.

It followed a joint press conference with Donald Trump, in which the US president announced his plan for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza to make the Palestinian enclave the “Riviera of the Mediterranean”, with the US taking over the territory.

Normalisation with Saudi Arabia was discussed between the two leaders and, in addition to his strong dismissal of the key Saudi condition of the establishment of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu insisted that peace between Israel and the kingdom was a reality to come.

“It is not only feasible, I think it’s going to happen,” he said.

The press conference was quickly followed by a statement from Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry, which said that the kingdom’s stance on Palestinian statehood was “firm and unwavering”.

“His Royal Highness emphasised that Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the statement read.