Saudi Arabia has offered to renew economic aid to the Palestinian Authority as part of efforts to move towards normalization talks with Israel, "The Wall Street Journal" reports. Senior Saudi officials told the newspaper that they are trying to ensure that Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen is open to Saudi Arabia developing ties with Israel, with the aim of obtaining additional legitimacy for an agreement.
According to the report, a Palestinian delegation will go to Saudi Arabia next week to discuss what the Saudis can grant them as part of their contacts with Israel. In an interview earlier this month with London-based Arabic newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat," the new Saudi ambassador to the Palestinian Authority, Naif bin Bandar Al-Sudairi who serves from Amman said that over the years the Saudis have invested about 51 billion riyals ($13.6 billion) in Palestinians.
According to the breakdown set out by Al-Sudairi, 29 billion riyals was transferred as direct aid to the Palestinian Authority, 4 billion riyals was given to UNRWA, and 18 billion riyals was given from the Saudi Development Fund. "There is no doubt that this illustrates the close relations and the Saudi aid to our brothers in Palestine." Al-Sudairi said.
However, since 2016, Riyadh has been protesting to Ramallah about the corruption affecting the Palestinian Authority, and thus the aid was cut from $174 million in 2019 to zero in 2021. The renewal of Saudi economic aid to the Palestinian Authority, which is having trouble maintaining and controlling the territory, while Iran is helping Hamas and Islamic Jihad, may encourage Ramallah to support normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Senior Saudi and Palestinian officials told "The Wall Street Journal" that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman first raised the idea in a meeting with Abu Mazen in April. According to the sources, the Crown Prince made the renewal of aid dependent on a more determined fight against the terrorist organizations that operate throughout Judea and Samaria. The officials added that Riyadh would not consent to an agreement with Israel that would harm efforts to establish a Palestinian state.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 30, 2023.
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