THE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has given a matured response to the deal between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, declaring categorically that it will not follow the fellow Gulf State in establishing diplomatic ties with the Jewish State until Tel Aviv has signed an internationally recognised peace accord with the Palestinians. Talking to reporters in Berlin on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said peace must be achieved with the Palestinians on the basis of international agreements as a pre-condition for any normalization of relations.
Rumours were rife as to what could happen next after the UAE, last week, became the first Gulf State to normalize relations with Israel, in a US-brokered accord. President Trump and other high level US officials have been hinting that more Arab and Muslim countries could follow the suit. As the Kingdom did not give immediate reaction, all eyes were justifiably set on Riyadh as to what decision it makes. The announcement of Saudi Arabia is reflective of the will and aspirations of Muslim Ummah, which is staunchly against entering into any normalization deal with the Jewish State until just settlement of the Palestinian issue. Prince Faisal reiterated criticism of Israel’s “unilateral policies” of annexation and building settlements in the occupied West Bank as “illegitimate” and “detrimental” to a two-state solution, which is significant in the backdrop of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks that the plan was not off the table in the long run, which is yet another manifestation of lack of sincerity of Tel Aviv to the cause of peace in the Middle-East. Saudi position has raised its stature further in the Muslim Ummah where it enjoys central and pivotal position as cradle of Islam. It is not a coincident that there is harmony of thinking on the issue of Palestine as a day earlier Prime Minister Imran Khan also declared that Pakistan will not recognize Israel until Palestine issue is resolved. After the UAE’s controversial move, there were stray voices in Pakistan suggesting Pakistan too should make decisions keeping its national interests in view when Arab themselves were deviating from the path of overall consensus among Islamic world. However, overwhelming majority of people of Pakistan firmly believe that there should be no compromise on rights of Palestinians and that is why the statement of Saudi Foreign Minister has widely been hailed in the country.
