Abbas’ Demands from Saudis are shamefully weak
Barak Ravid reported today that three months ago, the Palestinian Authority had given the Saudis their asks for either endorsing or at least not objecting to a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel. The list is shockingly meager considering that Saudi normalization is arguably the last significant card the PA has to play.
Let’s recall some context here. Just three years ago, the PA bitterly criticized the UAE and Bahrain for singing on to the Abraham Accords, accusing them of betraying the Palestinians. Perhaps even more pertinently, in 2002, the Saudis made it clear that they, and the rest of the Arab League, would normalize relations with Israel in exchange for Israel ending its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, sharing Jerusalem with Palestine as the capital of two states, and reaching an accommodation on the Palestinian refugee issue in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194. That offer was never acknowledged by Israel, but nor was it ever rescinded by Saudi Arabia or the Arab League.
The price of normalization has dropped considerably. I detailed what the Saudis are asking for here. What is notable is that the Saudis’ asks are all directed at the United States, not Israel. But they do say that significant concessions to the Palestinians are also part of their asking price.
