Contradicting Trump, Saudi Arabia says no change in its demand for Palestinian state

Within minutes of Donald Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Arabia threw cold water on one of the U.S. president’s pronouncements.

On Tuesday evening, when asked whether Saudi leaders were demanding the establishment of a Palestinian state in exchange for a treaty with Israel, Trump said they were not. “Everybody’s demanding one thing, you know what it is? Peace,” he said.

Saudi Arabia responded quickly: No, it had not not yielded on demanding the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with east Jerusalem as its capital, as a condition of normalization with Israel, the kingdom’s foreign ministry announced in a statement.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia emphasizes that this unwavering position is non-negotiable and not subject to compromises,” the statement said. Saudi Arabia also noted that it would object to any efforts to displace Palestinians, an idea Trump has repeatedly insisted on in recent days.

The firm statement illustrates the gap between Saudi Arabia and Trump, who made a series of shocking pronouncements on Tuesday, including that Gaza should be completely depopulated and then taken over by the United States. Those proposals fly in the face of the longtime Saudi demand for a Palestinian state in exchange for relations with Israel.

Trump is understood to view a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia as a major goal of his foreign policy. Netanyahu has repeatedly touted the prospects of Saudi-Israeli normalization as well.

The president, who considers himself a master negotiator and frequently makes unprecedented demands that change the terms of debate, helped Israel ink deals with four Arab countries during his first term.