SAUDI Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reiterated that Saudi Arabia will not recognize Israel without the creation of an independent Palestinian State. In a speech on Wednesday, he strongly condemned what he described as the “crimes of the Israeli occupation” against the Palestinian people.
The announcement is reassuring as Saudi Arabia is an active regional and global player and more so centrality in the Islamic world because of not only being the cradle of Islam but also champion of Islamic causes. The statement is all the more encouraging as it is not an attempt aimed at window-dressing. It may be noted that the Saudi leader has categorically stated “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”. This is in line with aspirations of Palestinian people and members of the Islamic Ummah. Incidentally, as the MBS made Saudi position once again clear vis-à-vis his country’s relations with Israel, the international community also spoke overwhelmingly in favour of the rights of the Palestinian people as the UN General Assembly adopted a Palestinian-drafted resolution that demands Israel end “its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” within 12 months. The resolution received 124 votes in favour, while 43 countries abstained and Israel, the United States and 12 others voted no. Earlier, in July, the International Court of Justice opined that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements is illegal and should be withdrawn. The real issue is implementation of the UN resolutions and the opinion of the World Court and we hope influential personalities like MBS would help a mechanism to force the Jewish state to listen to the voice of the world community.
