The dominion reiterated that ‘the Palestinian folks have a proper to their land’ and can’t be ‘expelled’.
Saudi Arabia has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that the dominion’s land be used to ascertain a Palestinian state.
In an announcement on Sunday, the Saudi Overseas Ministry accused Netanyahu of making an attempt to “divert consideration” from Israel’s ongoing “crimes” in Gaza, together with “ethnic cleaning”.
“The dominion affirms that the Palestinian folks have a proper to their land, and they aren’t intruders or immigrants to it who might be expelled each time the brutal Israeli occupation needs,” mentioned the Overseas Ministry.
#Assertion | The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia appreciates the condemnation, disapproval and whole rejection introduced by the brotherly nations in direction of what Benjamin Netanyahu said concerning the displacement of the Palestinian folks from their land and the Kingdom values the… pic.twitter.com/ebj2sVHx4w
— Overseas Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) February 9, 2025
On Thursday, Netanyahu responded to an interviewer on Israel’s Channel 14 who misspoke by saying “Saudi state” as a substitute of “Palestinian state”.
“The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they’ve a whole lot of land over there,” Netanyahu mentioned.
The interviewer replied that it was an concept value exploring.
The change drew indignant reactions from Arab states, together with Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq, in addition to the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
“These harmful and irresponsible statements affirm the method of the Israeli occupation forces of their disrespect for worldwide and UN legal guidelines and treaties and the sovereignty of states,” mentioned GCC Secretary-Normal Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.
The Saudi Overseas Ministry thanked the “brotherly nations” for denouncing Netanyahu’s remarks.
Discussions of the destiny of Palestinians in Gaza had already been upended by an earlier shock proposal from United States President Donald Trump for the US to “take over” and “personal” Gaza, resettling Palestinians elsewhere in a transfer that will quantity to ethnic cleaning. That suggestion, amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, has additionally been roundly condemned by Arab leaders.
Trump has additionally mentioned Saudi Arabia wouldn’t require the formation of a Palestinian state as a precondition to normalise ties with Israel, a declare Riyadh has repeatedly denied.
Israel’s conflict on Gaza has killed at the very least 61,700 Palestinians together with about 18,000 youngsters, and wrecked a lot of the enclave’s infrastructure. Greater than 14,000 extra persons are lacking and are presumed to be useless.
The Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7 that sparked the conflict killed 1,139 folks and seized greater than 250 captives, dozens of whom are nonetheless believed to be within the enclave.
