Finally an intelligent voice, in Saudi Arabia and the region, Prince Turki Al Faisal, who led Saudi intelligence for more than two decades, and served as ambassador to the United States and the United Kingdom, said lately; Any normalization deals needed to help the Palestinians obtain their own independent State.
While attending the Manama (Bahrain) dialogue security conference, on Dec. 5th 2020, he said; Israel is a western colonizing power. Incarcerating Palestinians in concentration camps, for the flimsiest of security accusations, young and old, women and men, who are rotting there without recourse to justice. They are demolishing homes as they wish and they assassinate whomever they want. The Prince also criticized Israel's undeclared arsenal of nuclear weapons, estimated to be into several hundreds of nuclear warheads.
It is considered the harshest criticism of Israel coming from a high ranking member of the Royal Saudi family, or of any normalizing relations countries with Israel, in the hope of countering their common rival Iran, and boosting foreign investments in their areas of the Persian Gulf. Few days later Morocco followed suit, so as to gain in exchange American recognition of its dominance and sovereignty over the Western Sahara. Mr. Trump obliged with no hesitation, plus that he created another headache for president elect Biden.
Prince Turki's comments come as neighboring UAE, and Bahrain recently moved to normalize relations and establish ties with Israel, a deal brokered by president Trump's son in law Jared Kushner and part of the Trump oligarchy in Washington and Jerusalem.
While Saudi Arabia has maintained its position insisting that any normalization between the Kingdom and Israel can only happen along side a lasting peace deal involving a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The kingdom publicly continues to state its unwavering support for the Arab peace initiative, a 2002, Beirut conference that offers Israel full ties with all Arab states in return for Palestinian statehood on all territories captured by Israel during the 1967 war, and totally refused, snubbed and shelved by Israel till today.
Although the Prince does not hold any official position within the kingdom, his stance is seen as closely mirroring that of king Salman, contrarily to crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman. Israeli foreign minister, general Gabi Ashkenazi, who attended the conference virtually, spoke directly after prince Turki and said; I would like to express my regrets on the comments of the Saudi representative, I don't believe that they reflect the spirit and the changes taking place in the present Middle-East.
Maybe and hopefully prince Turki's words and comments and his entire statement will put the entire normalization process into some more equitable and rational path, whereby the Palestinians will not be the only and major losers, but unfortunately, the latest Moroccan move leaves us clearly with only one conclusion, everyone has a price, including leaders, brokers and countries.
As always, my profound and many thanks to all, stay safe.
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