SAUDI Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman received a rousing reception during his recent US visit, with President Donald Trump pulling out all the stops for his royal guest. The visit, marked by pageantry and frequent displays of mutual admiration, reaffirms the nearly nine-decade-old relationship between the kingdom and the US. There was talk of investment, while the US president declared that the kingdom was now a major non-Nato ally.

This may have fallen short of the crown prince’s expectations, who wanted stronger defence commitments, and the designation is likely a consolation prize. When the issue of the so-called Abraham Accords, and the associated recognition of Israel — Mr Trump has long tried to sell the idea to the Saudis — came up, the prince answered diplomatically. “We want to be part” of the accords, “but”, he added, there needs to be “a clear path [to the] two-state solution”.

If Saudi Arabia were to join the accords, and recognise Israel, it would open the pathway for the Zionist state’s normalisation with most of the Muslim world, considering that the kingdom hosts Islam’s holiest cities. Yet Mohammed Bin Salman surely realises that embracing Israel just after it has paused the Gaza genocide, and while the Zionist regime refuses to accept even the possibility of a Palestinian state, may not go down well with his own people and the Muslim/Arab street. Israel is in no mood to consider a Palestinian state, and talk of the two-state solution currently is pure fantasy. If Mr Trump is serious about the Abraham Accords, he needs to tell his friends in Tel Aviv that without Palestinian self-determination, there can be no normalisation.

Rumours have also swirled of Pakistan being ‘pressurised’ to accept the Zionist state. So serious had the chatter become that the foreign minister had to deny speculation that Pakistan was about to normalise ties with Israel. Pakistan’s UN representative also recently reiterated that the country was committed to the establishment of the state of Palestine.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians have had enough of hollow promises. Unless the promise of a sovereign, contiguous and viable Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, is realised, the people of Palestine cannot be expected to give up resisting their occupiers, and struggling for the freedom of their homeland. Until Palestine is free, Muslim states must not reward Israel with recognition.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2025