Middle East Eye / August 13, 2023
Saudi Arabia’s new ‘consul-general in Jerusalem’ position is seen as an endorsement of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israel ruled out on Sunday any eventual physical mission in Jerusalem for the first Saudi envoy to the Palestinians, even as they cast his appointment as endorsement of their goal of a state that would include part of the city as its capital.
Saudi Ambassador to Jordan Nayef al-Sudairi on Saturday expanded his credentials to include non-resident envoy to the Palestinians. A social media post by his embassy said “consul-general in Jerusalem” was also now among Al-Sudairi’s duties.
But Israel has made it clear that there will be no physical mission for the Saudis in occupied East Jerusalem.
“This (Al-Sudairi) could be a delegate who will meet with representatives in the Palestinian Authority,” Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Tel Aviv radio station 103 FM.
“Will there be an official physically sitting in Jerusalem? This we will not allow.”
Saudi Arabia’s move came after Washington said there had been some progress in its efforts to mediate a forging of formal relations between Israel and the kingdom – which had previously ruled out such a pact until Palestinian statehood goals are addressed.
“The Saudis want to relay a message to the Palestinians that they have not forgotten them,” Cohen said.
Signaling that they felt sidelined by the stepped-up indirect talks, the Palestinians voiced hope earlier this month that Riyadh would hear their concerns and coordinate with them.
They sounded more upbeat after Al-Sudairi’s appointment.
East Jerusalem, Palestine?
“What does it mean to also say (he is) ‘consul-general in Jerusalem’? It means a continuation of the positions of Saudi Arabia,” Palestinian Ambassador to Riyadh Bassam al-Agha said.
Interviewed on Voice of Palestine radio, Al-Agha further interpreted the appointment as a “rejection” of the US recognition in 2017 of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The Palestinians want a state in territories captured by Israel in a 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as their capital. US-sponsored negotiations with Israel on achieving that stalled more than a decade ago.
Among the hurdles have been Israeli settlement of occupied land and feuding between Western-backed Palestinian authority in the occupied West Bank and the Hamas movement governing in Gaza.
Another sticking point is Jerusalem, which Israel deems its indivisible capital – a status not widely recognized abroad. Israeli authorities bar Palestinian diplomacy in the city.
Al-Sudairi presented his credentials to the Palestinian mission in Amman, indicating the Jordanian capital would remain his base.
Israel’s hard-right government has played down any prospect of it giving significant ground to the Palestinians as part of the potential normalization deal with Saudi Arabia.
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Israel says no Jerusalem base for Saudi envoy to Palestinian Authority
Al-Jazeera / August 13, 2023
Israel says the new ambassador can meet Palestinian officials but will have no fixed presence.
Israel has rejected the idea of a diplomatic base in Jerusalem for Saudi Arabia’s envoy to the Palestinian Authority (PA), who recently presented his credentials to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s diplomatic adviser Majdi al-Khalidi.
Ambassador Nayef al-Sudairi, the kingdom’s current ambassador to Jordan, was named as non-resident envoy to Palestine and consul general in Jerusalem on Saturday at the Palestinian embassy in Amman.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Tel Aviv radio station 103 FM on Sunday that the new ambassador, Nayef al-Sudairi, could meet representatives of the PA but would have no fixed presence.
“Will there be an official physically sitting in Jerusalem? This we will not allow,” Cohen said.
Normalization in the background ?
The file for the Palestinian territory has traditionally been handled by Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Amman.
The Saudi move appeared to be in line with the longstanding and so-far fruitless Palestinian goal of founding a state in territories occupied by Israel in a 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as the capital.
Israel deems Jerusalem its own capital, a status recognized by the United States under then-President Donald Trump in 2017 but not by other world powers. Israeli authorities bar Palestinian diplomatic activity in the city.
Saudi Arabia, Islam’s birthplace, has championed the Palestinian cause and shunned official ties with Israel, but Washington is seeking to promote what could be a historic Middle East deal that would normalize Israeli-Saudi relations.
Israel’s hard-right government has played down any prospect of it giving significant ground to the Palestinians as part of a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia.
Like most of the Arab League, Riyadh has previously conditioned recognition of Israel on the Palestinian statehood goal being addressed. Among the challenges to that goal is the schism between the internationally recognized PA and its rival Hamas.
Bassam al-Agha, the Palestinian ambassador to Riyadh, cast Al-Sudairi’s appointment as Saudi affirmation of Palestinian statehood and “rejection of what had been announced by former US President Trump”.
“This means a continuation of Saudi Arabia’s positions,” Al-Agha told Voice of Palestine radio.
While Cohen said Al-Sudairi’s appointment had not been coordinated with Israel, he saw a possible link to the normalization prospects.
“What is behind this development is that, against the backdrop of progress in the US talks with Saudi Arabia and Israel, the Saudis want to relay a message to the Palestinians that they have not forgotten them,” Cohen said.
SOURCE: AL-JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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Saudi Arabia’s 1st ambassador to Palestine presents letter of credentials
Middle East Monitor / August 13, 2023
The first ambassador appointed by Saudi Arabia to Palestine, Naif bin Bandar Al-Saud, presented on Saturday his letter of credentials to the Palestinian authorities, Anadolu reports.
Ambassador Al-Saud delivered the letter of credentials to Majdi al-Khalidi, advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas for diplomatic affairs, at the Palestinian Embassy in Jordan, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The original credentials will be handed over to the Palestinian president soon.
Al-Saud will serve as the non-resident ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Palestine.
Khalidi said this step would contribute to strengthening the bonds between the two brotherly peoples and countries.
Al-Saud previously served as the Saudi ambassador to Amman.
