‘Extremist mindset’: Riyadh rejects Netanyahu’s remarks on displacing Palestinians

Saudi Arabia has categorically rejected recent remarks made by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu about displacing Palestinians from their homeland and establishing a Palestinian state within the Saudi territory.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry in a statement on Sunday slammed the “extremist mindset” of the Israeli occupation, emphasizing its failure to understand the deep historical connection between the Palestinian people and their land.

“This occupying extremist mindset does not comprehend what the Palestinian territory means for the brotherly people of Palestine and its conscientious, historical and legal association with that land,” the statement said.

The statement came after Netanyahu said during an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 that, “The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there.”

Cairo deemed the idea as a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty.”

Egypt and Jordan also condemned the Israeli suggestions, with Egypt slamming Netanyahu’s comments as “irresponsible and unacceptable” and in breach of both international law and the UN Charter.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced the proposal as “racist and anti-peace,” calling it a blatant violation of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and stability.

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said Netanyahu’s remarks disregarded international law and conventions, stressing, “The State of Palestine will only be on the land of Palestine.”

Saudi Arabia previously engaged in US-mediated talks on normalizing relations with Israel but paused the negotiations when the regime initiated a genocidal war in Gaza in October 2023, resulting in the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Throughout the discussions, Riyadh has consistently emphasized that it would only consider normalizing ties with Tel Aviv if there were a clear and defined pathway toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Outrage as Netanyahu says Palestinians could establish own state in Saudi Arabia

Benjamin Netanyahu said Saudi Arabia should provide a land for the people of Palestine.

‘Take the Israelis to Alaska’

Last month, within days after taking office, US President Donald Trump proposed relocating Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab nations to “just clean out” the war-torn area, in what analysts see as a push for the expulsion of Palestinians from their homelands.

The majority of the international community, especially the Arab nations have rejected the plan in favor of Palestinian sovereignty.

In a meeting with Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the US would “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.

Trump’s shock proposal caught huge flak from rights groups and activists as well as Arab states, which came during a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza war.

Yousef bin Trad al-Saadoun, a member of the Saudi Shura Council, also mocked Netanyahu’s suggestion of establishing a Palestinian state on Saudi soil, proposing that US President Donald Trump should instead dislocate Israelis to Alaska and later to Greenland if he sought peace in the West Asia region.

Writing in the Saudi newspaper Okaz on Friday, Saadoun criticized Trump’s approach to West Asia policy and argued that reckless decisions stem from ignoring expert advice and dismissing dialogue.

The official warned that Zionists and their allies “would fail to manipulate Saudi leadership through media pressure and political maneuvers.”

Taking a swipe at the Trump administration, Saadoun said, “The official foreign policy of the United States will seek the illegal occupation of sovereign land and the ethnic cleansing of its inhabitants, which are the Israeli approach and are considered crimes against humanity.

“Anyone who follows the path of the emergence and continuation of Israel clearly realizes that this plan was certainly formulated and approved by the Zionist entity, and was handed over to their ally to read from the White House podium.”

During the 15 months of Israel’s war on Gaza, more than 48,000 were killed in the besieged territory, and 110,000 injured, most of whom were children and women. Gaza’s 2.3 million populations have been displaced and much of the besieged territory is in ruins.

On January 15, the Israeli regime, failing to achieve any of its war objectives including the “elimination” of Hamas or the release of captives, was forced to agree to a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian resistance movements.

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