Speaking on Thursday at a conference organised by the Israeli daily Makor Rishon, Smotrich, who heads the far-right Religious Zionism party, said: „Sovereignty [over the occupied West Bank] is the real test. If Saudi Arabia tells us normalisation in exchange for a Palestinian state, then the answer, my friends, is no thank you – keep riding camels on the desert sands, and we will continue to develop economically and socially, and with all the great things we know how to do.“
Archiv: the Arab and Islamic regions and cultures: the Saudi Ruler and extras
Netanyahu drops West Bank annexation from agenda due to UAE pressure
(today)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed away from putting West Bank annexation on the government’s agenda after the United Arab Emirates warned that any such move would cross a “red line” and threaten the Abraham Accords.
The meeting, scheduled for Thursday, will instead address the deteriorating security situation in the territory as international attention turns toward possible recognition of a Palestinian state at the upcoming UN General Assembly.
Emirati officials warn: Israeli annexation of West Bank ‚would destroy Abraham Accords‘ – exclusive
(September 3, 2025)
Senior Emirati officials warned top Trump administration officials against Israeli moves to apply sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, a source familiar with the details of the discussions told The Jerusalem Post.
„This would destroy the Abraham Accords,“ the Emirati officials warned, adding: „Do not allow Israel to annex parts of the West Bank.“
President Abbas holds phone call with Saudi Crown Prince to discuss latest developments
The President praised the Kingdom‘s pivotal and constructive role in mobilizing international support for the recognition of the State of Palestine and its embodiment on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
President Abbas further commended the Kingdom’s role in leading the Arab-Islamic efforts in two emergency summits, as well as the Arab-Islamic Committee, chaired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for its significant efforts within this framework, the formation of the international coalition, and the convening of the International Conference on Peace in New York.
The call also addressed ongoing preparations for the International Peace Conference in New York on 22 September and efforts to mobilize further recognitions of the State of Palestine, including the recognition of the State of Palestine by France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Singapore and the announcements made by other countries expressing their intention to recognize the State of Palestine, to enhance the prospects of achieving a just and comprehensive peace in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.
Arab League backs call for Hamas to disarm for a two-state solution
As part of an end to the Gaza war, they said Hamas „must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.“ The declaration came at a two-day United Nations conference in New York.
In the face of Israel‘s genocide in Gaza, ongoing silence and inaction is complicity
For nearly two years, we have witnessed a live-streamed genocide. War crimes have been well-documented by journalists, rights groups, doctors and civilians. There’s enough evidence to sift through for decades to come.
Activists and celebrities have reminded the western world of their vow to “never again” allow something like this to happen. Countless social media campaigns have pleaded with the public to keep “all eyes on Rafah” and on Gaza.
But still the genocide persists. Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank have become more brazen and violent than ever.
Why is this happening? It’s not because Israel is a small beacon of democracy in the Middle East surrounded by enemies. Rather, it’s because Israel is a rogue state surrounded by capitulators who have allowed this to unfold.
Any government in the world could expel the rogue state of Israel from the United Nations. None does.
(April 27, 2025)
It‘s not the world order that has failed the Palestinians. It‘s the world.
‘They’ll kill us all’: Gazans plead for intervention as Israeli attacks intensify
(April 7, 2025)
“We are civilians in our homes,” Al-Aqqad pleaded. “We don’t want to be displaced to unsafe areas. The army targets everyone without exception. We want the world to act and save us, otherwise they’ll kill us all.”
Any government in the world could expel the rogue state of Israel from the United Nations. None does.
(April 27, 2025)
It‘s not the world order that has failed the Palestinians. It‘s the world.
Gaza is a mirror reflecting the world‘s absolute shame: Opinion
Never in recent history has a civilian population been locked into a fenced strip of land – denied food, water, and fuel – while being bombed from air, land, and sea.
This is not siege. It is the world’s first televised extermination.
A concentration camp under constant aerial assault.
(…)
What is happening in Gaza does more than violate law – it obliterates it.
It tears through every principle of humanity, every treaty that claims to uphold it.
The world did not merely fail Gaza. It abandoned her. And in doing so, it exposed itself.
Gaza is not just a killing field.
She is a mirror – and in her reflection, we see our absolute, unvarnished shame.
Trump and Netanyahu‘s 2-state vision: Gaza war‘s end, Abraham Accords expansion
They reached consensus on these fundamental principles in general terms. They plan rapid implementation, beginning with Gaza warfare termination.
1. Gaza hostilities will conclude within two weeks, ending conditions will encompass four Arab nations (including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates) to administer the Gaza Strip, replacing the murderous Hamas terrorist organization. The remaining Hamas leadership will face exile to other countries, while the hostages gain freedom……
Netanyahu, Trump discussed ending war on Gaza with major stipulations: Report
Per Israel Hayom, the five points discussed were as follows:
1. Wrapping up the war on Gaza within two weeks and allowing for Egypt and the UAE to administer Gaza, replacing Hamas. Israel‘s remaining captives in the strip would also be released during this time.
2. Multiple countries taking in Gaza residents for resettlement.
3. The Abraham Accords expanding to include Saudi Arabia and Syria, and potentially other neighbours.
4. Israel declaring its „willingness for future Palestinian conflict resolution“ under the „two-state solution“ concept, contingent upon reforms of the Palestinian Authority.
5. Washington acknowledged Israel‘s „limited“ sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
OIC to hold special session on Israel-Iran conflict at Iran’s request
The number of participants is anticipated to reach around 1,000, marking a record high-level attendance compared to previous sessions.
Heads of delegation from participating countries include 43 ministers and five deputy ministers.
Iran’s FM to attend Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meet in Turkey on Saturday, source says
(June 19, 2025)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is expected to attend a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Saturday, a Turkish foreign ministry source says, as fighting rages between Israel and Iran.
The source says a special session of the 51st OIC Council of Foreign Ministers is expected to focus on Israel’s recent strikes against Iranian nuclear and military sites, including today’s attack on the Khondab nuclear site in Arak.
Israel strikes Iranian nuclear plant in Isfahan as FM arrives in Turkey for talks
Israel attacked Iran‘s Isfahan nuclear site in the early hours of Saturday, the Fars news agency reported, saying there were no hazardous leaks or risk to the population. (,,,)
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Istanbul on Saturday, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as the conflict with Israel rages.
Iran asks Gulf states to mediate for ceasefire with Israel
Tehran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press U.S. President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Iran in return for Tehran‘s flexibility in nuclear negotiations, two Iranian and three regional sources told Reuters on Monday.
Public condemnation, private interest: Arab world response to Israel‘s Iran strikes – opinion
Therefore, although it is still too early to disclose the full extent of Arab involvement, there are indications that Israel operated over the airspace of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria – the latter likely without its knowledge or consent.
Jordanian fighter jets intercepted Iranian drones over Jordanian territory.
It is also reasonable to assume that the regional air system, established following the Abraham Accords and Israel’s inclusion in the US Central Command (CENTCOM) – known as the Middle East Air Defense – was activated to intercept Iranian drones, as it was during Iran’s two previous attacks in April and October 2024.
Arab ministers condemn Israeli ‘ban’ on planned West Bank visit: Jordan
The ministers condemned “Israel’s decision to ban the delegation’s visit to Ramallah on Sunday to meet with Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas,” the Jordanian foreign ministry said. Ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had been expected to take part alongside Turkey.
Israel blocks Saudi-led delegation from visiting Palestinian Authority
Israel decided to block a visit planned for Sunday by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Turkey to the Palestinian Authority, a senior Israeli official said in a briefing with reporters.
Saudi foreign minister traveling to occupied West Bank for first time in more than 50 years
Farhan will lead a delegation to Ramallah, a Palestinian embassy source told the AFP, in the first such trip since Israel conquered the territory from Jordan in 1967.
Why Arab leaders aren‘t helping the Palestinians in Gaza
(May 20, 2024)
“The Arab world has turned its citizens into consumers basically,” explained Rami G. Khouri, a distinguished public policy fellow at the American University of Beirut, in an interview with RS.
“You can consume anything you want. There are 25 different kinds of fried chicken which you can buy in most Arab capitals and that’s fine. That’s what the governments want is to have people spend their time, money, and thoughts on consumption. But anything that has to do with political power, public policy, and allocation of economic gains have to be controlled by the government,” he added.
Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen border areas hours after intense US airstrikes
Officials from Saudi Arabia have privately said they will not join or help a ground offensive in Yemen.
Much for world, Bangladesh to do to stop Gaza genocide
But the protests held in Suhrawardy Udyan on April 12 where a declaration outlined the demands for the United Nations, the world community and Muslim world leaders, especially Arab nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Bangladesh government appear hardly critical of the United States. Israel’s genocide in Gaza has, of course, resulted from the nonchalance of the Muslim world, especially Arab nations. But it could not happen without the complicity of the United States. Before the Balfour declaration was made public, it was approved by the United States in early 1918. The west, generally, and the United States, especially, having ignored the historical context has given rise to the current state of the conflict. The United States, the first country to grant Israel recognition on May 14, 1948, engineered the Oslo accord and the Abraham accord to further consolidate Israel as the colonial settler state in occupied Palestine with support from major Arab states. The Arab world and the United States are both equally responsible for the current state of Palestine and they all should be equally condemned.
Is this the dawn of a new era in the Middle East?
The Gaza war and its aftermath in Lebanon and Syria seem to have strengthened the hands of Israel and Turkey, while weakening those of Iran and its allies. At the same time, the return of Trump appears to have brought the US even closer to Israel, and upped its opposition to Iran.
But how much this is truly a departure from the past should not be overstated. Most powers, such as in the Gulf and Egypt, have had to adapt to the new circumstances, but their policy positions have not drastically altered.
As Trump looks to turn page on Gaza and Ukraine, all roads lead to Riyadh
Saudi Arabia is neutral ground for Trump to restore high-level ties to Russia, but the crown prince is opposing his Gaza plans
Saudi Arabia spearheads Arab scramble for alternative to Trump‘s Gaza plan
The role of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MbS, is shaping up to be key.
„We are telling the Americans we have a plan that works. Our meeting with MbS is going to be critical. He is taking the lead,“ said a Jordanian official.
Trump pushes Gaza plan in meeting with Jordan‘s King Abdullah II
„I don‘t have to threaten that. I do believe we‘re above that,“ Mr. Trump said. That contradicted his previous suggestion that holding back aid was a possibility.
Gaza: Trump forces King Abdullah II of Jordan into diplomatic contortions
There was something painful about watching Jordanian King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, February 11, his eyes nervously twitching as he tried not to upset his host, Donald Trump. Journalists asked him, several times over: Was his country, Jordan, ready to receive a part of the Gazan population on its soil, as the American president wants to remove them from Palestinian territory?
The king refused to answer. In his impeccable English, he cautiously took refuge behind Egypt‘s broader international stature.
Jordan‘s King Abdullah avoids contradicting Trump‘s claim to authority over Gaza
“I think we have to keep in mind that there is a plan from Egypt and the Arab countries,” Abdullah said when prompted to speak by the president.
“We‘re being invited by [Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Salman to discussions in Riyadh..“
‘Non-negotiable’: Saudi Arabia flatly rejects Trump’s Gaza takeover plan
“His Highness [Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman] has affirmed this position in a clear and explicit manner that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances.
“His Highness stressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that.”
World reactions to Trump‘s proposal for US to ‚take over‘ Gaza Strip
„The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,“ Trump said. „We‘ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs.“
U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels
(January 23, 2016)
In addition to Saudi Arabia’s vast oil reserves and role as the spiritual anchor of the Sunni Muslim world, the long intelligence relationship helps explain why the United States has been reluctant to openly criticize Saudi Arabia for its human rights abuses, its treatment of women and its support for the extreme strain of Islam, Wahhabism, that has inspired many of the very terrorist groups the United States is fighting. The Obama administration did not publicly condemn Saudi Arabia’s beheading this month of a dissident Shiite cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who had challenged the royal family.
Exclusive: Palestinian Authority tells US it is ready to ‚clash‘ with Hamas for control of Gaza
Ziad Abu Amr, one of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s longtime advisors, would become the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip, heading the committee. He would be appointed deputy to Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa but endowed with massive new powers.
Abu Amr was born in the Gaza Strip in 1950. He could be palatable to the Trump administration because he is also a US citizen. He obtained his PhD from Georgetown University and served as deputy Palestinian prime minister from 2013 to 2024.