Why Saudi Arabia holds the key to Palestinian statehood

What the report says

Al Jazeera published an opinion article by Nawaf Obaid, a senior fellow at King’s College London’s Department of War Studies, arguing that Saudi Arabia’s position is central to any future settlement linking Palestinian statehood with recognition of Israel. Obaid writes that Riyadh’s decision to cosponsor the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in 2024, now meeting in Rome, reflects a long-running Saudi doctrine rather than a new policy shift.

The article traces that approach from King Faisal’s emphasis on Palestinian self-determination through the 1981 Fahd Plan and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. In Obaid’s account, Saudi policy has consistently treated recognition of Israel and the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state as connected parts of one comprehensive agreement, not as steps to be taken separately. He says King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman now face the question of whether current diplomacy can meet those longstanding conditions.

Obaid argues that Saudi Arabia’s role carries unusual weight because of its religious standing as home to Islam’s two holiest sites, its political influence in the Arab and Islamic worlds, and its economic power as a G20 member and major energy producer. He contrasts this with the Abraham Accords, which normalised Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan without resolving Palestinian statehood.

The piece says a Saudi-Israeli settlement grounded in Palestinian statehood could reshape calculations for other Arab and Muslim-majority countries that have not recognised Israel. Obaid also notes uncertainty, saying Israel, Palestinians, the United States, the European Union and regional actors remain essential to any outcome. The article is clearly marked as opinion, and Al Jazeera states the views are the author’s own.