Saudi Arabia condemns Netanyahu’s remarks on Palestinian displacement to kingdom

ANKARA (AA) – Saudi Arabia on Sunday strongly condemned the recent statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for the displacement of Palestinians to the kingdom.

In an official statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its “categorical rejection” of such rhetoric, emphasizing that “the Palestinian people have a right to their land, and they are not intruders or immigrants to it who can be expelled whenever the brutal Israeli occupation wishes.”

The kingdom also stated that “this extremist, occupying mentality does not understand what the Palestinian land means to the brotherly people of Palestine,” and asserted that Israel “does not think that the Palestinian people deserve to live in the first place.”

“The proponents of these extremist ideas are the ones who prevented Israel from accepting peace,” the ministry said, emphasizing that Israel has been “systematically practicing injustice towards the Palestinian people for more than 75 years.”

Reiterating its commitment to a peaceful resolution, Saudi Arabia asserted that “the right of the Palestinian People will remain firmly established and no one will be able to take it away from them no matter how long it takes.”

“Lasting peace will not be achieved except by returning to the logic of reason and accepting the principle of peaceful coexistence through the two-state solution,” it added.

On Thursday, Netanyahu suggested that Palestinians should establish their state in Saudi Arabia rather than in their own homeland, dismissing any notion of Palestinian sovereignty.

“The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there,” he said.

Earlier, on Feb. 4, President Donald Trump said Washington will “take over” Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere under an extraordinary redevelopment plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”