Saudi King Calls for 'Fair' Palestinian Solution in Trump Call
Saudi Arabia supports a "fair" solution for the Palestinian cause, King Salman has told Donald Trump in a phone call, as the US President praised the kingdom for opening its airspace to Israel-UAE flights.
Saudi Arabia has said it will not follow the United Arab Emirates, which announced last month it would establish diplomatic ties with Israel, until the Jewish state has signed an internationally recognised peace accord with the Palestinians.
In a phone call to Trump on Sunday, King Salman affirmed the "kingdom's keenness to reach a lasting and fair solution to the Palestinian cause to bring peace", the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
Last week, Saudi Arabia agreed to permit UAE flights to "all countries" to overfly the kingdom, as Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu announced the launch of regular direct flights linking the UAE with the Jewish state.
The announcement came just days after the first direct commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi passed through Saudi airspace, marking the normalisation of Israel-UAE ties under a US-backed deal known as the Abraham Accords.
Riyadh's decision marked another concrete sign of Saudi Arabia's cooperation with Israel even after it publicly refused to follow the UAE's move.
"President Trump... welcomed the opening of Saudi air space to flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, beginning with last week's historic commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi," said a White House readout of the phone call.
"President Trump highlighted the significance of the Abraham Accords and discussed ways to enhance regional security and prosperity."
Allowing flights between Israel and the Emirates to cross Saudi airspace saves long detours around the Arabian peninsula.
Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's biggest economy and home to Islam's holiest sites, faces more sensitive political calculations than the UAE.
Despite its clandestine relations with Israel, a formal recognition of the Jewish state would be seen by Palestinians and their supporters as a betrayal of their cause and hurt the kingdom's image as the leader of the Islamic world, analysts say.
Trump also urged Saudi Arabia to "negotiate with other Gulf countries" to resolve a regional rift with Qatar, the White House added.
Riyadh and its allies severed ties with Doha in a shock move in 2017, accusing the gas-rich emirate of backing extremists and siding with Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran. Qatar denies the charges.
The crisis shows no sign of relenting despite rising international pressure.
07 September 2020, 12:05
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He can call as much as he wants, but with Abu Mazen refusing to sit down with Israel for the last 5 years, there is no chance that anything will change, remembering that even when they did sit down to talk 4-5 times, firstly Arafat and the Abu Mazen simply got up and walked away refusing to accept or even discuss anything Israel offered them, which at one point was up to 95% of the territory.
07 September 2020, 15:13
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Not Defending the Palestenians, as they did sell out their own people. I am very interested in reading the agreement where the palestenians got 95% of the territory. So let's be fair, when the Arab league met in Lebanon they offered the Israleis full relationships and peace if they will go back to the 1976 boarders and it was the Isarelis that refused. Neither side wants peace
07 September 2020, 15:15
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Not Defending the Palestenians, as they did sell out their own people. I am very interested in reading the agreement where the palestenians got 95% of the territory. So let's be fair, when the Arab league met in Lebanon they offered the Israleis full relationships and peace if they will go back to the 1976 boarders and it was the Isarelis that refused. Neither side wants peace
07 September 2020, 19:19
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Palestinians accepted the Arab league proposal. Israel did not. Palestinians have consistently supported a peace agreement based on international law at much higher percentage than Israelis. The key here is international law.
07 September 2020, 19:17
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Phillipo ... stop lying. The Palestinians and the Israelis were very close to having a deal during Barak (israel time) but it was the Israeli public that chose to elect an extremist government that is anti peace. Negotiations is about negotiations and not simply talking while one side impose facts on the ground. You know as well as I do that Netanyahu wants to continue with Israel control of the occupied territories while the Palestinians have limited autonomy in disjointed parcels of territories.
07 September 2020, 19:24
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Israel did not offer Abu Mazen 95 percent or even 80 percent of the west bank. That is a lie.
According 4o international law Israel must withdraw from all occupied territories and allow refugees to return. Palestinians accepted a very limited right of return. Israel refused. If Israel wants part of the occupied territories (22 percent of Palestine. The rest is occupied by Israel) then they must accept land swap.
07 September 2020, 19:46
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Phillipo ... stop lying. The Palestinians and the Israelis were very close to having a deal during Barak (israel time) but it was the Israeli public that chose to elect an extremist government that is anti peace. Negotiations is about negotiations and not simply talking while one side impose facts on the ground. You know as well as I do that Netanyahu wants to continue with Israel control of the occupied territories while the Palestinians have limited autonomy in disjointed parcels of territories.
07 September 2020, 20:22
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Without admitting historical facts and making full restitution to the Palestinians, no lasting peace is possible with Israel even if governments of some Arab countries sign such agreements With Israel.
Make no mistake about that cause the Arab street is not on board and as such, any such agreements are precarious at best. Check out the history, have Egyptian or Jordanian or emanating citizens embraced this peace. The answer of course is a big fat NO.
So stop the spinning and work on the core of the issue without which no lasting peace is possible.
09 September 2020, 23:19
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Good joke, we dont really care of the arab street, or what the arabs think, we really dont need this "peace" as we have 0 benefit of it (if anyone benefit of it, its the tens of thousands of Jordanian who work in IL) its not a peace agreement its no-war agreement, that is all we always wanted!
07 September 2020, 20:23
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@phillipo, though the Palestinians and Arabs’ behavior fits the statement once made by Ana Eban, to paraphrase: “Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity” the fact remains that Theodore Herzl did NOT specifically ask for Palestine. Instead he mentioned countries in North Africa as well as South America that in his view would do. Then came you religious leaders and insisted on Palestine as if the Torah or the Bible gave them a title deed.
Spin it anyway you want, the truth remains that the Palestinian Arabs’ land was stolen from underneath them by the British colonial rulers.
07 September 2020, 12:15
10
Talks with Israeli Terror states is not fruitful, BiBi terror regime only wants more illegal annexation and deportation
08 September 2020, 01:55
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Clear, succinct and to the point. Haven’t found it better expressed anywhere before.
How about it @phillipo, you know that what @levant stated is fact?
08 September 2020, 15:33
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Do you Iran is going to change if Israel and Palestinians have peace? NO WAY
09 September 2020, 23:13
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The only "fair" solution, is to give the Palestinians, every inch of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 5 June 1967 land, to exchange population, to build 25 fit wall between us and them and wish them all the best...
