Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), said Wednesday that there would be no “normalization” of relations with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state — a reversal of his position one year ago.
In September 2023, as Breitbart News reported, MBS said that he wanted to see a “good life” for Palestinians emerge from any peace deal with Israel, but specifically excluded mention of a Palestinian state. While the Saudi foreign minister insisted on a Palestinian state, MBS — the real source of power in the kingdom — pointedly did not.
But the Biden administration reportedly intervened, insisting that a Palestinian state be included in any Saudi-Israeli deal.
That slowed negotiations down — and then Hamas launched its terror attacks on October 7, with Iranian support.
Undeterred, the Biden administration insisted that a Palestinian state emerge as the result of any ceasefire or hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, ignoring concerns that a state would simply reward Palestinians for terrorism.
Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated her commitment to a Palestinian state in her remarks Tuesday to the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).
And now, MBS is also insisting on a Palestinian state in any deal.
The Times of Israel reported Wednesday:
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday said the kingdom would not recognize Israel without a Palestinian state and strongly condemned the “crimes of the Israeli occupation” against the Palestinian people.
“The kingdom will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and we affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the crown prince, known as MBS, says.
After the eruption of war last October between Israel and Hamas, Saudi Arabia put on ice US-backed plans for the kingdom to normalize ties with Israel, two sources familiar with Riyadh’s thinking said earlier this year, in a swift reordering of its diplomatic priorities.
A Palestinian state is a non-starter for Israelis, who have flipped on the issue over the last decade. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett explained the reasoning succinctly in a recent interview: “Because they’ll kill us.”
Not one additional country has joined the Abraham Accords since Biden and Harris took office in January 2021.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
