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By Palestine Chronicle Editors
In an interview with the conservative US media channel, Fox Information on Wednesday, September 20, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke about Palestine, Iran, and normalization with Israel, amongst different points.
Each main media, together with pan-Arab media channels appeared to interpret what Bin Salman stated in another way, relying on their very own political agendas.
US media centered totally on the prospect of normalization with Israel, largely relegating his references to Palestine and the rights of the Palestinians.
Professional-Saudi Center Jap media appeared to emphasise the latter and largely omit the previous.
Arab channels that aren’t loyal to the Kingdom reiterated the US media line, thus specializing in normalization and little else.
However What Did Bin Salman Truly Say?
Generally, the interview supplied Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political lifeline.
But it surely stays unclear whether or not Netanyahu is keen to concede something to the Palestinians, per Saudi expectations.
But with out concessions, normalization won’t be doable, particularly since Bin Salman emphasised within the interview three main factors relating to Palestine:
One, he stated: “For us, the Palestinian concern is essential”, and “we have to clear up that half”.
Two, “we received to see the place we go.. we hope that may attain a spot, that it’ll ease the lifetime of the Palestinians, (and) get Israel as a participant within the Center East.”
Lastly, and maybe the clearest of all of his statements, he stated:
“If we now have a breakthrough, reaching a deal that provides the Palestinians their wants and (making) the area calm, we’ve started working with whoever’s there.”
The latter emphasis was a solution to the query on whether or not the Saudis are keen to work with the likes of a rightwing chief like Netanyahu and his authorities.
For Bin Salman, the difficulty of normalization doesn’t appear to be tied to a person however is a strategic query for his nation.
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Selective Politics
Netanyahu want to ignore this important truth. As an alternative, the Israeli chief needs to interpret Bin Salman’s feedback in methods that may be useful for Tel Aviv, and for Netanyahu personally.
What issues probably the most to Netanyahu is the concept the Saudis are nonetheless dedicated to normalization talks, regardless of earlier studies by Saudi media that Riyadh has requested the US to freeze the dialog on a doable deal.
That is the remark which, for Netanyahu, issues most:
There had been “good negotiations” up to now, and “day-after-day, we get nearer.”
This offers the embattled Israeli chief hope for 2 causes:
One, he can at all times promote his individuals the concept the financial system of Israel may nonetheless get better its large losses – estimated at 60 p.c within the first three quarters of 2023 – in overseas investments.
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Two, he should purchase time to maintain his extremist coalition on the helm of Israeli politics.
The second level, nevertheless, is as a lot a bonus as it’s a drawback.
Because the Israeli prime minister was heading to the US to participate within the United Nations Common Meeting conferences, a lot of influential Israeli parliamentarians from the Likud celebration warned him to not make any concessions to the Palestinians as a part of a future Saudi-Israel normalization deal.
If Israel makes a single significant concession to Palestinians, or perhaps a symbolic reference to their sovereignty over East Jerusalem, the West Financial institution and Gaza – as confirmed in worldwide regulation – his coalition will certainly collapse.
If he doesn’t, the Saudis would discover it tough, if in any respect doable, to maneuver ahead.
This takes us again to Bin Salman’s feedback, a few of which raised but extra questions:
By stating that “for us the Palestinian concern is essential”, does it imply that this ‘concern’ must be resolved as a precondition to normalization?
What did he imply by “easing lifetime of the Palestinians? – as this might imply something between granting just a few thousand employees permission to work inside Israel, to Palestinian freedom from the yoke of the Israeli army occupation.
Strategic Ambiguity
The Crown Prince was deliberately imprecise.
Some declare that that is his first ever media interview in English, whereas others report that it was a ‘uncommon’ one.
Bin Salman performed the interview whereas totally conscious of the elephant within the room, primarily the homicide of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Bin Salman mentioned the topic as a matter of safety flaw that must be addressed by “reform(ing) the safety system” of the nation so “these sorts of errors don’t occur once more.”
“It was a mistake. It was painful,” Bin Salman stated, asserting that “everybody concerned” is serving, or will serve jail time.
His seemingly ‘balanced’ view on Palestine was immediately linked to his must current the difficulty of Khashoggi’s homicide in a non-confrontational method, with the hope of shifting previous this tragic chapter altogether.
Nonetheless, his views, although communicated rigorously, didn’t appear to contradict the declared Saudi place on normalization, relationship again to the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.
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If something new was gleaned from the interview is that the normalization talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia are nonetheless shifting ahead.
On Iran, US Politics
US media, each liberal and conservative, gave higher emphasis to sure phrases and phrases within the interview and relegated others. Why?
The conservatives need to make the most of any potential normalization between the Saudis and Israel as a part of the so-called Abraham Accords, facilitated by the Donald Trump administration throughout his time period in workplace.
The liberals are determined for a overseas coverage breakthrough earlier than the beginning of the presidential election season, in order that President Joe Biden might enhance his management standing.
The identical logic applies to Bin Salman’s feedback on Iran.
“We’re involved of any nation getting a nuclear weapon”, he stated, but when Iran constructed one, the Kingdom would have “to get one” as effectively.
Israel is understood for having an enormous nuclear arsenal. Iran, then again, is but to acquire nuclear weapons, and there’s no proof that Tehran is searching for such nukes.
Company media, nevertheless, portrayed Bin Salman’s assertion as a direct menace to Iran, utterly ignoring the truth that Israel’s nukes are the primary existential menace to the Center East area.
Coming days and weeks will supply higher readability relating to what the Saudi Crown Prince meant – or didn’t imply.
For now, Netanyahu will do his utmost to capitalize on the continued normalization talks with one of many richest nations within the Center East, in reality, the world.
Report: Saudi Arabia Freezes Normalization Talks with Israel over Palestine
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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