from Middle East Eye
... When Trump revealed his plan to own Gaza after the mass transfer of the Palestinians, he said that the bill for the clean up operation would go to the Gulf states, by which he meant Saudi Arabia. This particularly irked Riyadh.
Trump also bragged that Saudi Arabia would normalise with Israel without a Palestinian state. "So, Saudi Arabia is going to be very helpful. And they have been very helpful. They want peace in the Middle East. It's very simple," Trump said.
It took Riyadh just 45 minutes to reply in what has become known as the dawn statement.
It left little room for manoeuvre.
"His Royal Highness emphasised that Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and will not establish relations with Israel without that."
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also reaffirms its unequivocal rejection of any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, land annexation or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land....The kingdom of Saudi Arabia emphasises that this unwavering position is non-negotiable and not subject to compromises."
The war of words has hotted up since.
In his interview with Channel 14, Netanyahu performed a victory roll. He said if the Saudis were so keen on creating a Palestinian state, they could do it on their territory. "The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there."
This provoked a further chorus of condemnation from the Arab world including Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait.
In its second statement of the week, on Sunday, Riyadh said it categorically rejected statements that "aim to divert attention from the continuous crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are subjected to".
The statement again left little to the imagination: "This extremist, occupying mentality does not understand what the Palestinian land means to the brotherly people of Palestine and their emotional, historical and legal connection to this land," it said.
Palestinians have a right to their land and "are not intruders or immigrants to it who can be expelled whenever the brutal Israeli occupation wishes". ..
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