Middle-East

Israel cannot exist without a Palestinian State - Saudi Arabia

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. (Photo: Jung Yeon-je/Pool via REUTERS)

By Mwangi Maina | Monday, May 27, 2024

Saudi Arabia on Monday also condemned Israel's latest attack on Rafah.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin-Farhan has said it is very concerning that Israel does not recognise that the security it seeks comes through a two-state solution.

He said this after meetings with his Arab and European counterparts in Brussels on Sunday

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"It is absolutely necessary that Israel accepts that it cannot exist without the existence of a Palestinian state," the top Saudi diplomat told reporters in Brussels.

"Its security is served by building a Palestinian State. So we hope sincerely that the leaders of Israel will realise that it is in their interest to work with the international community, not just to strengthen the Palestinian Authority but to establish a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders."

Saudi Arabia on Monday condemned Israel's latest attack on Rafah.

"The latest of which is targeting the tents of displaced Palestinians near the warehouses of UNRWA northwest of Rafah", the foreign ministry said.

Palestinians look at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip May 5, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)

Saudi officials have repeatedly called for a halt to the war and led Arab nations in accusing Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza. They fear that the brutal images emerging from the shattered territory will radicalise their young population.

Saudi Arabia has long been considered the grand prize for Israel.

As the Arab world's biggest economy and home to Islam's two holiest sites, a decision by the Kingdom to normalise relations with the Jewish state would have far-reaching effects.

Riyadh maintains there will be no recognition of Israel without a two-state solution.

The meeting was chaired by Saudi Arabia and Spain.

Spain alongside Norway and Ireland last week recognised the State of Palestine, to Israel's fury.

A majority of UN member countries recognise Palestinian statehood. European countries are split on the issue.

Spain, Norway and Italy will join EU nations Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden in recognising the State of Palestine.

Israel made a new push in central Gaza last Monday in a war in which nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed.