Israel is interpreting recent United States-Saudi statements about establishing a Palestinian state within five years as a “non-binding commitment” from its perspective, according to the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
Israeli political analyst Nahum Barnea explains that Riyadh views this commitment as a core, essential element in its political vision, while Israeli interpretations reduce it to a “non-binding pledge”.
Barnea notes that the Saudi insistence on an American guarantee means that, for Saudi Arabia, the dream of a Palestinian state has become more tangible and concrete.
Why Won’t Arab States Join The International Force In Gaza?
The Israeli analyst also referred to remarks by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his talks in Washington, where he clarified that the proposed international force to be established in Gaza will not include soldiers from any Arab or Muslim country.
According to the report, bin Salman justified this position by stating that “Muslim soldiers will not fight Hamas and will not disarm it”. This, in turn, raises a clear question about which party will be tasked with confronting the movement, especially given the possibility that the international force, if it is formed, will become “a toothless structure similar to UNIFIL in Lebanon”, while Israel, and perhaps the Palestinian Authority to a lesser extent, will remain “the two parties that confront it”.
Barnea considers that this “victory visit” by bin Salman to Washington represents a turning point in the history of Saudi Arabia and in United States policy in the Middle East, and that the Crown Prince’s vision extends far into the future “for his country, for Israel and for the entire region”.
In the meeting between bin Salman and Donald Trump two days ago, and against the backdrop of Washington’s readiness to sell Riyadh F-35 fighter jets, the two sides discussed efforts to bring Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords and to normalise relations with Israel. Bin Salman expressed a dual and interconnected desire regarding joining these agreements, explicitly linking Saudi participation to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
