CAIRO: Egypt condemned statements by Israeli officials suggesting the establishment of a ‘Palestinian state on Saudi territory’ as “irresponsible” on Saturday.

Egypt’s foreign ministry said in a statement the idea was a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty” and that the kingdom’s security was a “red line for Egypt”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be joking this week when he responded to an interviewer on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 who misspoke by saying “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state” before correcting himself. “A Palestinian state,” Netanyahu said, correcting the interviewer. “Unless you want the Palestinian state to be in Saudi Arabia, they have a lot of territory,” Netanyahu added, smiling during the interview, conducted in Washington.

The Egyptian statement did not directly refer to Netanyahu but said such remarks were “reprehensible aggression and an infringement of diplomatic norms”.

President Donald Trump suggested this week that the United States take control of Gaza from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, including in Egypt and Jordan. Arab nations want to see a two-state solution with a separate Palestinian homeland alongside Israel.

Trump later said Riyadh was not demanding a Palestinian state as a condition for normalising ties with Israel. But Saudi Arabia rebuffed his statements, and said it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.

Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza, territory they want to form part of an independent state, has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations and neighbouring Arab states have rejected it since the Gaza conflict began.

Trump’s plan has received global condemnation, with regional and global leaders saying such a move would threaten regional stability. Trump said on Friday he was in no rush to implement his plan to take over and redevelop Gaza.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2025