By Itamar Eichner
January 31, 2024
Against the backdrop of the many questions about the “day after” in the Gaza Strip, Rabbi Marc Schneier, a prominent American rabbi who is close to the Saudi royal family, wrote in an article published last Friday in the leading Saudi newspaper Arab News that ” Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have been telling both Israel and the Biden administration that they are prepared, with the support of Egypt and Jordan, to offer massive aid for the reconstruction of Gaza, but only on the condition that the Israeli government works toward Palestinian statehood.”
The rabbi, who founded and heads the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and has been warmly received over the past 15 years in the palaces of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, wondered in the article: “Why is Netanyahu acting so surprised by the Saudi offer for the Gaza’s reconstruction and normalization with Israel in exchange for a two-state solution? Why is the Prime Minister now reacting as if Saudi Arabia’s position on the Palestinian state is breaking news?”
According to Schneier, without a two-state solution, Netanyahu can forget not only about helping rebuild Gaza, but also about normalization with Saudi Arabia. “The Kingdom has, time and time again, expressed a hope and desire for normalization with Israel in exchange for a Palestinian state. Its position on the pathway for normalization has not changed, even in the midst of the current crisis in Gaza,” the rabbi noted in his article.
Schneier also claimed that ” Saudi officials have been consistent for more than a decade when discussing normalization with Israel alongside the creation of a Palestinian state. When I privately met with Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Prince Faisal in Riyadh in 2020, they both explicitly stated the position of the Kingdom. They said the country was calling for the emergence of a Middle East that included a future Palestinian state and Israel living side by side in peace and security. In fact, this offer has been extended by Saudi Arabia since the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.”
“Saudi Arabia’s position on normalization has not changed, even in the midst of the current crisis in Gaza.” Rabbi Schneier with Saudi Foreign Minister in 2020
In his speech at the Davos Economic Forum this month, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan made similar remarks. “Peace and security for Israel is intimately linked with Palestinians’ peace and security. We are fully on board with that.”
In an interview with CNN last week, Prince Faisal bin Farhan stressed: “We need stability and only stability will come through resolving the Palestinian issue.”
In his op-ed, Schneier addressed Netanyahu, urging him to “embrace this historic opportunity.” According to the rabbi, “We must recognize Saudi Arabia’s framework for its consistency and authenticity as an expression of the Kingdom’s aspiration for a transformative Middle East of peace, prosperity and coexistence.”
Click here to read the full article (Original version in Hebrew).
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