Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah are wary of warming ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, following various reports on recent developments in the diplomatic arena. The Palestinians, however, haven't dared criticize the Saudi monarchy publicly, mainly so as not to raise the ire of officials in Riyadh and exacerbate their already fragile relations with them.
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Palestinian leaders are concerned that Israel and Saudi Arabia are moving toward diplomatic normalization that wouldn't include guarantees regarding the Palestinian issue.
"There is growing trepidation in light of reports about significant rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia ahead of the US President Joe Biden's visit to the region on July 13. The [Palestinian] leaders cannot stomach the idea that Israel is advancing its relations with Arab countries before a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is achieved, which would represent a violation of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative that Saudi Arabia spearheaded and the Arab League adopted. The concern is that [Saudi] Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman will leave the Palestinians behind," said one Palestinian source.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said: "The fact that President Biden will fly directly from here to Saudi Arabia indicates an improvement of relations in the region. Ultimately, we aspire to a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia."
It should be noted that throughout the past year, senior PA officials have sought to better relations with the Saudi monarchy and meet with Saudi officials, but the Saudis haven't shown particular interest in doing so and have even bristled over the Palestinian position toward the United Arab Emirates in the wake of the Abraham Accords. As a reminder, the Palestinians described the Israeli-UAE peace agreement as a "betrayal and knife in the back."
Historically, relations between Ramallah and Riyadh have been positive and strong. Even when Arab countries ended their economic support of the PA, Saudi Arabia continued granting it $25 million per year.
However, now that Bin Salman effectively assumed the reins of power, the Saudi approach to the Palestinians shifted and relations with Ramallah have deteriorated. Former US president Donald Trump's policies also added to these tensions.
Remarks by Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador to the US, regarding the Palestinians' conduct in negotiations over the years were among the first signs that Saudi-PA relations had degraded. Meanwhile, other Saudi officials accused the Palestinians of rejecting proposals and squandering opportunities for peace.
Another aggravating factor is Hamas' activity on Saudi soil. Saudi authorities, as a reminder, have taken action against dozens of Hamas officials.
Losing Saudi Arabia
Now, the Palestinians are afraid of losing Saudi Arabia, in which could exacerbate their isolation within the Arab world.
"Normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be an earthquake for the Palestinian leadership," said a Palestinian official. "They are convinced that as long as King Salman is alive, Saudi Arabia won't be able to declare full and open relations with Israel out of fear for the kingdom's status in the Islamic world. With that, the concern is that as the king becomes weaker, the son will take control and make peace with Israel."
Despite these fears, Palestinian leaders haven't given up and efforts to strengthen relations with Riyadh are ongoing. In Ramallah, officials aren't hiding their aspirations in the diplomatic sphere, but understand they must first rehabilitate their relations with the Saudis. The understanding is that as tensions between Washington and Riyadh dissipate, the greater the PA's odds of rehabilitating ties with the Saudis. From this perspective, the Palestinians view the Americans as a type of mediator in a "sulha" (reconciliation) between Ramallah and Riyadh.
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