Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine & Saudi-Israel peace deal on hold
Hopes of a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel are on hold following a report in the Wall Street Journal that – according to US officials – the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the broad contours of a deal for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel in exchange for concessions to the Palestinians, U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear help.
These U.S. officials have expressed cautious optimism that, in the next 9 to 12 months, they can hammer out the finer details of what would be the most momentous Middle East peace deal in a generation. But they warned that they face long odds.
They certainly do.
The report claims:
“The Saudis are also seeking significant concessions from Israel that would help promote the creation of a Palestinian state.”
If the creation of a separate Palestinian state between Israel and Jordan is going to be a deal breaker for an Israeli-Saudi agreement – then that deal will not happen – certainly whilst Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s Prime Minister.
This would involve shredding the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution (HKOPS) published on 8 June 2022 – authored by Ali Shihabi – a confidante of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) – which calls for the merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into one territorial entity to be named The Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine.
HKOPS trashes what has been Saudi and Arab League policy calling for a two-state solution since 2002.
The Wall Street Journal report continues:
“But the crown prince has told aides that he isn’t ready to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel similar to those with the United Arab Emirates, which signed a deal in 2020, according to Saudi officials.
The crown prince told his advisers that he was in no rush, especially with the current hard-line coalition government in Israel that opposes creation of an independent Palestinian state, they said.”
The Wall Street Journal should ask MBS to clarify how he can reconcile:
- His current statement about the need for an independent Palestinian state with
- His failure to reject or disassociate himself from HKOPS which shreds the need for an independent Palestinian state
Implementing HKOPS could happen very quickly – involving negotiations that would mainly have to only focus on:
- The new international boundary to be drawn between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine
- The security arrangements to be put in place in relation to all the territory of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine west of the Jordan River.
President Biden needs to explain why he stubbornly clings to the two-state solution as the basis for ending the Jewish-Arab conflict that still remains unresolved after more than 100 years.
Biden has supported a two-state solution since he was Vice President in 2011 – after President Obama had declared:
“The United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent Israeli borders with Palestine. The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state.”
Time Biden recognised his favoured solution was going nowhere after 12 years and backed its replacement with the revolutionary and game-changing Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution – which he has not mentioned once in the 14 months since its publication.
Meantime as Biden and MBS pussyfoot around ending the Israel-Arab conflict – divisiveness among Israelis and the threat of another war to eliminate Israel hangs heavy over the region.
Please join my Facebook Page: “Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters”
Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.
David Singer is a Sydney lawyer and a foundation member of the International Analysts Network
