Riyadh Summit’s Impact on Arab States’ Resolution of Palestine Question

• Saudi Arabia hosted a summit to discuss the Palestine question, demanding an end to Israel’s military aggression on Gaza and Lebanon.

• The leaders condemned the Israeli military’s “shocking and horrific crimes”, its “crime of genocide”, and “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza.

• The summit called for measures to end the Israeli occupation and establish an independent, sovereign Palestinian state.

• Arab countries had shown a willingness to improve or normalize ties with Israel bypassing the Palestine question, violating the spirit of the Arab Peace Initiative.

• The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, did not provide Palestinians with anything.

• After the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and Israel’s retaliatory war on Gaza, Arabs condemned the Israeli actions but did not provoke the Jewish state.

• The Riyadh summit expressed collective anger and sent a message to both Israel and the U.S. that resolving the Palestine question is key to peace in West Asia.

• Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated that any future agreement with Israel should be linked to resolving the Palestine issue.

• The last time an Arab country attacked Israel was in 1973 when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise offensive in Sinai and Golan, Egyptian and Syrian territories, respectively, captured by Israel in 1967.

• The UAE, which had close ties with Israel, is not ready to support the day after the war in Gaza without the establishment of a Palestinian state.