Naveed Miraj
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has genuinely proved itself as the true leader of Muslim Ummah, not only with words but also with its actions. On important matters, especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the KSA has genuinely represented the aspirations of the Muslim Ummah, which is seriously concerned and angered over the relentless Israeli atrocities against Palestinians spanning over many decades.
As some Muslim countries forged diplomatic ties with the Jewish state under Abraham Accords, rumors were rife that the KSA would also jump on the bandwagon and normalize its relations with Israel, but it chose a more principled path of standing with the oppressed rather than the oppressor.
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud once again made it clear that his country will not normalize relations with Israel in the absence of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud’s comments came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed normalization with Saudi Arabia in talks with National Security Adviser of the White House, Jake Sullivan, in Jerusalem on Thursday.
KSA wants Israel’s complete withdrawal from occupied territories
Given the international clout of Saudi Arabia, Israel has a greater interest in normalizing relations with the Kingdom. Through this, the Jewish state also wants legitimacy of its inhumane and horrendous actions in occupied Palestinian territories besides greater acceptance in the Muslim world.
Hence the latest statement by the KSA’s Foreign Minister would definitely have shattered their dreams and given much-needed encouragement to the oppressed Palestinian people.
The path is clear if Israel really wants to establish diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. The late King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, had espoused the Arab Peace Initiative about twenty years ago. The Kingdom rightly continues to adhere to it as the mainstay to formalize relations with Israel.
The Arab Peace Initiative calls for complete Israel’s withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967, including the Golan Heights, a just settlement of the Palestinian refugee question, and recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
In exchange for those measures, the member states of the Arab League committed to declaring an end to the Israeli-Arab conflict and establishing normal relations with Israel.
Instead of giving importance to this initiative, the successive Israeli governments have continued with their ruthless policies of land confiscation, illegal settlement, and dispossession, inflicting immense suffering on the Palestinians and depriving them of their fundamental rights.
Every passing year proves to be bloodier for the Palestinians than the previous one. While the Palestinians and Muslim countries firmly believe in a two-state solution to the Middle Eastern conflict, Israel wants one state solution predicated on apartheid and racial discrimination.
