Cairo, February 9, 2025: Saudi Arabia has strongly rejected recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the displacement of Palestinians, the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated on Sunday.
The statement came after Israeli officials suggested the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state on Saudi territory. Netanyahu appeared to joke about the idea during an interview on the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14, when an interviewer mistakenly said “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state” before correcting himself.
While Saudi Arabia’s official statement mentioned Netanyahu by name, it did not directly address the specific comments about a Palestinian state on Saudi land.
Meanwhile, Palestinian group Hamas accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire accord and delayed the announcement of the names of three Israeli hostages until after a 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) deadline on Saturday. It was unclear whether this delay would impact the scheduled prisoner exchange.
Hamas also accused Israel of blocking humanitarian aid, alleging that hundreds of food and supply trucks agreed under the January 19 truce deal were delayed. The group claimed that Israel had withheld most of the tents and mobile homes needed to shelter displaced Palestinians, calling it “a clear manipulation of relief and shelter priorities.”
