Israel has stated that the new ambassador can talk to Palestinian officials but won’t have a permanent office there.
Israel has said no to the proposal of having a diplomatic office in Jerusalem for Saudi Arabia’s representative to the Palestinian Authority. This representative, Ambassador Nayef al-Sudairi, who currently serves as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Jordan, presented his credentials to a Palestinian official. He was designated as a representative to Palestine and consul general in Jerusalem, but Israel rejected the idea of having a diplomatic base for him in Jerusalem.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday that the new ambassador, Nayef al-Sudairi, could have discussions with representatives of the Palestinian Authority (PA), but there won’t be a permanent office in Jerusalem. “We won’t permit an official presence in Jerusalem,” Cohen stated.
Normalization Behind the Scenes
In the past, Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Amman used to manage matters related to the Palestinian territory. Saudi Arabia’s recent action seems to align with the ongoing Palestinian aim of establishing a state in the areas taken by Israel during the 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital. The United States recognized this claim in 2017 when Donald Trump was President, but other countries do not agree. Palestinian diplomatic efforts are not allowed by Israeli authorities in the city.
Saudi Arabia, where Islam originated, has been a supporter of the Palestinian cause and has not had official relations with Israel. However, the United States is trying to encourage a potentially historic agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia to establish normal relations.
The current conservative Israeli government is not showing much willingness to make substantial concessions to the Palestinians in order to achieve this normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Similar to many other countries in the Arab League, Saudi Arabia has previously stated that recognizing Israel would depend on progress towards creating a Palestinian state. One of the obstacles to achieving this goal is the division between the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority (PA) and its rival group, Hamas.
Bassam al-Agha, who represents Palestine in Riyadh, said that the appointment of al-Sudairi as the Saudi ambassador shows that Saudi Arabia supports Palestine as a separate country and disagrees with what former US President Trump had stated. Al-Agha mentioned this on Voice of Palestine radio.
Cohen mentioned that although the choice of al-Sudairi as the ambassador wasn’t discussed with Israel, there could be a connection to the chances of improving relations between the two countries.
The reason for this development is that, with the ongoing discussions between the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, the Saudis want to tell the Palestinians that they still care about them.