Egypt has said it is “irresponsible” for Israeli officials to suggest establishing a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia.
The country’s foreign ministry said it considered the suggestion a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty”, adding the kingdom’s security was a “red line for Egypt“.
The remarks appeared to be a response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting Palestinians should establish a state in Saudi Arabia.
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It comes after Donald Trump said Palestinians should be resettled so the US can take over Gaza.
The US president said his country could develop the land and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” while the enclave’s population of two million are resettled in countries such as Egypt and Jordan.
On Friday, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said he had contacted Arab partners including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to bolster the region’s rejection of any displacement of Palestinians.
He said they had emphasised “the constants of the Arab position on the Palestinian cause, rejecting any measures aimed at displacing the Palestinian people from their land, or encouraging their transfer to other countries outside the Palestinian territories”.
Arab nations want a two-state solution which would see a separate Palestinian homeland exist alongside the state of Israel.
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Displacing Palestinians would be a “flagrant violation of international law, an infringement on Palestinian rights, a threat to security and stability in the region and an undermining of opportunities for peace and coexistence among its peoples,” Egypt’s statement said.
Instead, Egypt and other Arab nations were looking at how to rebuild and clean up Gaza after Israel’s military campaign, which has devastated much of the territory in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
The attack saw around 1,200 Israelis massacred and around 250 people taken hostage.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 47,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The diplomatic spat comes as three Israeli hostages, who appeared thin and frail, were released by Hamas in return for 183 Palestinian prisoners.
