Dan Williams
Updated Sun, August 13, 2023
Flags of Saudi Arabia and Israel stand together in a kitchen staging area as U.S. Secretary of State Blinken holds meetings in Washington
By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -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.
The move came after Washington said there had been some progress in its efforts to mediate a forging of formal relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia - which had previously ruled out such a pact until Palestinian statehood goals are addressed.
Signalling 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.
"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 U.S. 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. U.S.-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 authorities and armed Hamas Islamists who spurn coexistence with Israel.
Another sticking point is Jerusalem, which Israel deems its indivisible capital - a status not widely recognised 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.
"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."
Israel's hard-right government has played down any prospect of it giving significant ground to the Palestinians as part of the potential normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia.
"What is behind this development (Al-Sudairi's appointment) is that, against the backdrop of progress in the U.S. talks with Saudi Arabia and Israel, the Saudis want to relay a message to the Palestinians that they have not forgotten them," Cohen said.
(Additional reporting by Nidal al-MughrabiWriting by Dan WilliamsEditing by Bernadette Baum and Frances Kerry)
Israel will not allow Saudi Arabia to open Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem
Abbie Cheeseman
Sun, August 13, 2023
Eli Cohen, Israel's foreign minister, made the announcement on the country's Radio 103FM on Sunday morning - DUMITRU DORU/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Israel has said it will not allow Saudi Arabia to open a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem after their first-ever ambassador to Palestine was appointed on Saturday.
The appointment comes despite Saudi talks with the US about a delicate deal to normalise relations with Israel.
The Israeli foreign ministry was bypassed as the credentials for Nayef al-Sudairi, the new ambassador, were presented to the Palestinian Authority at a ceremony in Jordan.
The non-resident envoy, who is the ambassador to Jordan and a cousin of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will also become the non-resident Jerusalem consul general.
The use of Jerusalem in his title is a direct nod to Saudi Arabia’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, not Israel.
Eli Cohen, Israel’s foreign minister, told the country’s Radio 103FM on Sunday morning that they would “not allow” the new Saudi Arabian ambassador to Palestine to open a consulate in Jerusalem.
No normalisation between Saudi and Israel
Saudi Arabia has long been a key supporter of Palestine and their desire for statehood. The appointment of an ambassador is widely being viewed among analysts as a way to show that they will not bow to Israeli concessions over Palestinians as part of a potential normalisation deal that the US has long been trying to broker.
Palestinians have expressed their concerns that a potential normalisation between the two powers would be a death knell to their hopes for future statehood.
“Saudi Arabia will not take formal steps towards normalisation with Israel that would undermine Saudi Arabia’s own declared commitment to the issue of Palestine,” said Lina Khatib, director of the SOAS Middle East Institute. “The appointment of a Saudi ambassador to Palestine is a signal that this commitment continues.”
While a complex Saudi-Israel normalisation deal still appears to be far off – particularly on the back of Saudi’s recent rehabilitation of Iran – some analysts have speculated that the ambassador’s appointment could be a way of laying out early their own demands for any future deal.
In negotiations with the US, the Saudis are asking for significant concessions from Israel toward the creation of a Palestinian state, according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal. There are also concerns over Saudi’s growing relationship with China.
Senior members of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-Right coalition are expected to draw the line at any concessions toward Palestinians.
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