Saudi Arabia Condemns Netanyahu’s Suggestion of Palestinian State on its Land

Saudi Arabia has vehemently condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that the kingdom’s land be used to establish a Palestinian state, accusing him of attempting to distract from Israel’s actions in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.

In a strongly worded statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry accused Netanyahu of seeking to “divert attention” from Israel’s ongoing “crimes” in Gaza, which it characterized as including “ethnic cleansing.”

“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,” the Ministry declared.

Netanyahu’s controversial remarks were made during an interview on Israel’s Channel 14 on Thursday. In response to an interviewer’s misstatement referring to a “Saudi state” instead of a “Palestinian state,” Netanyahu quipped:

“The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there.”

The exchange has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation from Arab nations, including Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Iraq, as well as the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed its gratitude to these “brotherly countries” for their swift denunciation of Netanyahu’s comments.

The controversy adds to the already fraught discussions surrounding the future of Palestinians in Gaza. Tensions were further heightened by an earlier proposal from US President Donald Trump suggesting that the US should “take over” and “own” Gaza, resettling Palestinians elsewhere – a move widely condemned by Arab leaders as amounting to ethnic cleansing.

Trump has also previously asserted that Saudi Arabia would not require the formation of a Palestinian state as a precondition to normalizing ties with Israel, a claim that Riyadh has repeatedly and firmly denied.

The ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza, triggered by a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, has resulted in a devastating humanitarian crisis. Reports indicate at least 61,700 Palestinians have been killed, including an estimated 18,000 children, and much of the enclave’s infrastructure has been destroyed. Over 14,000 people remain missing and are presumed dead.

The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,139 people and the capture of over 250 hostages, dozens of whom are still believed to be held in Gaza.