Tehran, Riyadh strongly oppose Netanyahu’s remarks on making ‘Palestinian state’ in Saudi Arabia

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi strongly condemned Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks suggesting establishment of a “Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia,” calling them an unprecedented act of aggression that threatens regional peace and security.

News ID: 5981

Date: 11 February 2025 - 12:06

TABNAK, Feb 11: The top diplomat made the remarks during a telephone conversation with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan amid rising tensions over so-called US-Israeli proposals for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the broader affairs that concern them.

Araqchi denounced Netanyahu’s statement as a “brazen act of provocation” and warned that such rhetoric exemplified the expansionist ambitions of the Israeli regime.

“These remarks are a clear indication of the unprecedented recklessness of the occupying regime and pose a direct threat to peace and security in the [West Asia] region,” he stated.

The official further denounced Israeli officials for seeking to erase the Palestinian identity by means of forced displacement and expansion of the regime’s illegal settlements.

Netanyahu came up with the idea after US President Donald Trump said the United States was seeking Gaza’s “ownership” as part of a so-called plan that he wheeled out under the guise of “rebuilding” the war-wrecked Palestinian territory.

Also on Monday, Trump insisted that Gaza’s two-million-plus Palestinians had no right to return to the coastal sliver after the “takeover,” claiming they would find “better housing” elsewhere.

Araqchi went on to rap the US-Israeli proposals to forcibly push Palestinians out of Gaza, calling it part of a larger colonial scheme to eliminate Palestinian sovereignty.

He urged the international community to take decisive action against, what he regretted was, a systematic attempt to erase the Palestinian cause of liberation from Western-backed deadly Israeli occupation and aggression.

Iran has also called for taking place of an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to address the issue.

Araqchi, meanwhile, emphasized the necessity of regional and international cooperation to prevent, what he warned was, underway attempts at “normalization” of genocide and lawlessness by the Israeli regime.

He called on the Muslim world and the broader international community to adopt immediate measures to ensure accountability for the regime’s atrocities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

During the phone call, bin Farhan conveyed Saudi Arabia’s opposition to forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza or other Palestinian territories.

He echoed Araqchi’s concerns about Netanyahu’s remarks, dismissing them as a non-starter and speaking of the kingdom’s support for Palestinian self-determination.

Recently, the Popular Resistance Committees, which gathers a number of resistance movements, also issued a strong condemnation in response to Trump’s statements, calling his remarks delusional and rooted in fantasy.

The groups rejected Trump's comparing Gaza to a property for sale, describing it as an extension of historical American arrogance towards oppressed nations.

“The land of Gaza is soaked with the blood of thousands of martyrs and wounded civilians. It is not for sale, and it will always be a graveyard and a nightmare for occupiers and tyrants,” the statement read.

The resistance committees also called Trump’s repeated statements about displacing Palestinians evidence of his ignorance and belief in an illusion of absolute power.

The committees insisted that despite such rhetoric, the Palestinian people remained steadfast in their land, resisting any forced displacement.

Gaza-based resistance movement Hamas’ spokesperson Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua has also denounced Trump’s remarks, stating that Gaza was not a real estate commodity, but an integral part of Palestinian land.

In an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera television network, he emphasized that attempts to eliminate the Palestinian cause would not be accepted.

“The occupation seeks to evade its commitments under existing agreements, but we remain committed to resistance,” al-Qanoua asserted, adding that the Israeli regime had failed to uphold the humanitarian aspects of previous accords too.

Furthermore, five Arab states, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, and Jordan, jointly rejected Trump’s proposal to push Gaza’s population into Egypt and Jordan.

In a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the countries said Gaza’s reconstruction had to involve its own people and that Palestinians should not be forcibly removed from their land. The letter stressed that rebuilding efforts had to take place with active Palestinian participation and international support rather than through displacement.