WSJ: Saudi Arabia offers PA funds resumption... but at what cost?
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As part of normalization efforts, Saudi Arabia offers the PA resumption of financial assistance, contingent that it meets "security" objectives.
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The head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas speaks to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 12, 2019. (WAFA)
Saudi Arabia looks to resume financial aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the condition that the Palestinian authorities crack down on "militant groups and curb violence in the West Bank," The Wall Street Journal reported.
Saudi Arabia's move is believed to be part of a concrete effort for the Kingdom to "legitimize" "any eventual agreement" with the Israeli occupation. In exchange for funding the PA, Riyadh believes that it would be able to push back on critics accusing it of "sacrificing" the Palestinian people and their efforts to establish an independent state, according to WSJ.
The Palestinian Authority will be sending a senior delegation to Saudi Arabia next week to hold talks with Saudi officials on "what the kingdom can do in talks with Israel to advance flickering hopes of creating a Palestinian state," WSJ wrote, citing Saudi and Palestinian officials informed on the matter.
The Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has reportedly offered Abbas assurances that Riyadh will "eventually resume its funding for the Palestinian Authority" as Saudi Arabia will not go into a normalization deal with "Israel" if this would undermine "efforts to create an independent Palestinian state," as per the Saudi narrative.
"We would like very much to listen to the Saudis, to coordinate with the Saudis, and to see how we can endorse and strengthen the position of the Saudis when it comes to this particular matter [Palestinian statehood], and how the Saudis could hear from us about the steps that they should undertake as necessary steps in order for the question of Palestine to be resolved," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said earlier this month.
US leads normalization talks
Washington has led efforts to secure a normalization deal between "Israel" and Saudi Arabia after several high-level talks were held between MBS and US officials.
The Washington Post reported earlier this month that US officials said "Israel" agreed to make concessions to Palestinians in order to ease the way for a broader understanding. The officials, as per the report, claimed that a normalization deal could be struck between nine to 12 months.
But the White House later refuted the report, saying there is yet a long path of discussions.
"Quite frankly, just to be blunt here, I think the reporting has left some people with the impression that the discussions are farther along and closer to some sense of certainty than they actually are," National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said.
"There are still a lot of conversations that have to occur before we get there," he added.
"Bottom line: there's no agreed-to set of negotiations, there's no agreed-to framework to codify normalization or any of the other security considerations that we and our friends have in the region. But there is a commitment by the administration to keep talking and to keep trying to move things forward."
Echoing Kirby's statement, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller stressed that the report "vastly overstates where things stand."
However, Washington's efforts remain concentrated on finalizing a deal between Riyadh who refused to take part in normalization talks dubbed the Abraham Accords back in 2020, which saw a number of Arab states including the United Arab Emirates establish concrete relations with the occupying entity.
Read more: US downplays media reports on close Israeli-Saudi normalization deal
