Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries condemned on Sunday remarks by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who appeared to suggest in an interview that a Palestinian state could be established on Saudi territory.

Netanyahu's remarks, which some Israeli media characterised as a joke, came with the region already on edge after US President Donald Trump proposed taking over the territory and displacing Gazans abroad.

Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Sunday that the thinking behind Netanyahu's remarks "is unacceptable and reflects a complete detachment from reality," adding that such ideas "are nothing more than mere fantasies or illusions."

The Saudi foreign ministry stressed its "categorical rejection to such statements that aim to divert attention from the continuous crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian brothers in Gaza."

A ministry statement welcomed "the condemnation, disapproval and total rejection announced by the brotherly countries towards what Benjamin Netanyahu stated regarding the displacement of the Palestinian people."

In a television interview on Thursday, right-wing Israeli journalist Yaakov Bardugo was discussing with Netanyahu the prospect of diplomatic normalisation with Saudi Arabia when he appeared to misspeak, attributing to Riyadh the stance that there would be "no progress without a Saudi state." "Palestinian state?" Netanyahu corrected him.

"Unless you want the Palestinian state to be in Saudi Arabia," the Israeli premier quipped. "They (the Saudis) have plenty of territory."

Netanyahu went on to describe the talks leading up to the so-called Abraham Accords, in which several Arab countries normalised ties with Israel, concluding: "I think we should allow this process to take its course."

But the suggestion of a state for Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank prompted an outpouring of regional condemnation, including from Qatar, Egypt and the Palestinian foreign ministry, which described the remarks as "racist."

The UAE Foreign Ministry denounced Netanyahu's comments as "reprehensible and provocative" in a statement, calling them "a blatant violation of international law and the United Nations charter."

Jordan's foreign ministry condemned them as "inflammatory and a clear violation of international law," stressing that the Palestinians have the "right to establish an independent, sovereign state" alongside Israel.

For Palestinians, any attempt to force them out of Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the "Nakba" or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948.

In its statement, Saudi Arabia said "this extremist, occupying mentality does not understand what the Palestinian land means" to Palestinians. Such a mindset, it added, "does not think that the Palestinian people deserve to live in the first place, as it has completely destroyed the Gaza Strip" and killed tens of thousands "without the slightest human feeling or moral responsibility."

GCC slams Israeli occupation statements

The Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassem Al Budaiwi strongly condemned and denounced, on Sunday, the statements issued by Israeli occupation against  Saudi Arabia, and their demand to establish a Palestinian state within Saudi territory.

In a press statement published by KUNA, Al Budaiwi stated that these dangerous and irresponsible statements confirm the approach of the Israeli occupation forces in their lack of respect for international laws and treaties, as well as the sovereignty of nations.

He reaffirmed the firm and steadfast stance of Saudi Arabia and the GCC countries in supporting the Palestinian people in obtaining their legitimate rights, and the significant and valuable efforts exerted in regional and international forums to support the Palestinian cause.

“These efforts focus on the necessity of a two-state solution, supporting Palestinian sovereignty over all Palestinian territories occupied since June 1967, establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and ensuring the right of return for refugees, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and international resolutions,” he said.

Arab League condemns irresponsible Israeli statements

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, vehemently denounced the remarks made by the Israeli PM regarding the purported transfer of Palestinians to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, he said that "such rhetoric is utterly unacceptable and reflects a complete detachment from reality."

Aboul Gheit reiterated his unequivocal assertion that the State of Palestine can only be established on the land occupied in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, encompassing both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a single, indivisible entity.

He further underscored that any alternative propositions are nothing more than delusions—fabrications that exist solely in the imagination of those who propagate them.

Muslim Council of Elders slams Israeli statements against Saudi

The Muslim Council of Elders, under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar, strongly condemned recent statements by Israel inciting against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory.

These statements constitute a direct affront to Saudi sovereignty and a clear violation of international laws and conventions.

In a statement, the Council expresses its full solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the unified Arab stance rejecting such irresponsible attempts in their entirety, as they threaten the security and sovereignty of Arab nations. It calls on the international community to take decisive measures to put an end to the ongoing provocations by the Israeli occupation.

The Council reaffirms its steadfast support for the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. It strongly opposes any attempts to displace Palestinians or infringe upon their inalienable rights.

The Muslim Council of Elders also renews its call to the international community and international organisations to urgently act to stop the Israeli occupation’s violations and to work diligently toward ending the decades-long suffering of the Palestinian people, which has persisted for over 70 years.

Arab Parliament condemns irresponsible Israeli PM statement

Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Mohammed Bin Ahmed Al Yamahi, strongly condemned the irresponsible statements made by Israel PM. He warned that such statements pose a serious threat to regional stability, escalate conflicts, and endanger global peace and security.

In a statement issued, Al Yamahi affirmed the Arab Parliament’s categorical rejection of these remarks that, he said, infringe upon the sovereignty, security, and stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and are a flagrant violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions, noting that the security and stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an integral part of Arab national security.

Al Yamahi reaffirmed the Arab Parliament’s steadfast rejection of all statements that encroach upon the sovereignty of Arab nations. He also underscored that such remarks represent a blatant violation of the Palestinian people’s legitimate and inalienable rights to establish an independent state on their entire national territory, including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, in accordance with the borders of June 4, 1967.

Furthermore, he expressed the Arab Parliament’s full solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, security, and the well-being of its people.

Iraq condemns Israeli provocative statements against Saudi

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly condemned the provocative statements of Netanyahu regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory.

In its statement, the Iraqi ministry stressed its categorical rejection of these remarks which represent a blatant violation of the Kingdom’s sovereignty and an assault on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. In addition to its violation of the norms of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

"As the Foreign Ministry expresses Iraq’s full solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it affirms its consistent position in supporting the security, stability and sovereignty of states, and underlines that any violation of the national sovereignty of any state is completely rejected.”

WAM / Agence France-Presse