Former President Trump hailed the 2020 Abraham Accords as a major foreign policy success, aiming to further this by including Saudi Arabia. However, his controversial proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, which he branded as a redevelopment project, drew swift rejection from Saudi Arabia, contradicting his assertion that the kingdom had softened its stance on Palestinian statehood. The Saudi Foreign Ministry reiterated its longstanding position that normalization with Israel is contingent upon establishing a Palestinian state, highlighting significant friction between Trump's ambitions and regional realities.
The kingdom made clear that it is standing by its demand that a Palestinian state first be established before it will normalize relations with Israel.
Mr. Trump's proposal to transfer all two million Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and then rebuild the enclave as the Riviera of the Middle East has antagonized some of the very people he needs to seal the deal.
One senior Saudi royal said what the American leader was proposing would be tantamount to an ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
Saudi Arabia's precondition, which the Saudis have insisted on for the past year, is nonnegotiable and not subject to compromises, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
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