Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met yesterday, Jared Kushner, senior advisor to the US President, who started a tour in a number of Gulf countries following the UAE and Israel’s declaration of full normalization of relations between them following US mediation. Kushner’s tour comes after a tour conducted by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Sudan. And the Gulf region, to convince other Arab countries to normalize relations with Tel Aviv.
The Saudi Press Agency reported that Mohammed bin Salman and Kushner "discussed the prospects for the peace process in the region and the need to resume negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to achieve a just and lasting peace."
The two sides also discussed the partnership between the two countries and its strengthening in all fields, in order to achieve security and stability in the region.
Nothing has been clarified about the details of the meeting between the two men regarding Washington’s efforts to normalize Riyadh’s relationship with Tel Aviv, as Kushner previously stated that normalization between the Kingdom and Israel is "an inevitable and a matter of time."
And Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan announced on August 18 that his country would not follow the UAE’s example in normalizing relations with Israel, as long as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was not resolved, stressing Riyadh’s commitment to the Arab peace initiative that was proposed in 2002, based on The Land for Peace principle.
Before his arrival in Saudi Arabia, Kushner met the King of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa in Manama, and during their meeting, the king thanked the US administration for undertaking what he described as continuous efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East.
Sheikh Hamad also praised the stances of the UAE and its endeavors to reach what he described as a fair solution that guarantees the Palestinian people gaining their legitimate rights and achieves peace in the region, as he put it.
The King of Bahrain also considered that Gulf stability and solidarity in the region depends on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
A joint committee,
and the American official came to Bahrain after his departure from the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, accompanied by an American delegation, in the context of preparing for the signing of the normalization agreement between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv in Al-Obeid within weeks.
Israel and the UAE formed a joint committee for cooperation in the field of services during a meeting between an Israeli delegation and an Emirati delegation in Abu Dhabi, and Kushner accompanied the Israeli delegation on Monday in what was described as the first Israeli commercial flight to the UAE.
The connotations of this image - Kushner fronting the session and mediating the American flag - sings all the articles to find out who is the true enemy of the nation and its people, who is the actual ruler of the region, and the puppets in the scene!
pic.twitter.com/NphJrc1Us6
- Prof.
Hakim Al-Mutairi (@DrHAKEM) September 1, 2020
In statements published by the official Emirates News Agency, Kushner indicated that other Arab countries could follow in the footsteps of Abu Dhabi quickly.
In response to a question about when the next Abu Dhabi will be printed, Trump's son-in-law and advisor was quoted as saying, "Let's hope it will be within months."
While no other Arab country has yet announced its willingness to follow the UAE's example, Saudi Arabia allowed the Israeli El Al plane to cross over the kingdom's airspace, in the flight carrying Kushner and the Israeli delegation.
Kushner's tour comes days after the US Secretary of State visited Israel, Sudan, Bahrain and the UAE last month, and among the most important issues that Pompeo discussed with officials of the Arab countries he visited were normalization with Tel Aviv.
Khamenei's statement
In return, the Iranian leader, Ali Khamenei, said yesterday that the Emirati normalization with Israel "is a betrayal of the right of the Islamic nation, the Arab peoples, the peoples of the region and Palestine."
"This betrayal will not last, but it will remain a stain on the face of the Emirati government," Khamenei added in an interview.
The Palestinian leadership had described the Emirati-Israeli normalization agreement as a betrayal and a departure from the long-standing Arab consensus on not normalizing normalization with Israel except in exchange for land. In return, the UAE says it has obtained a major concession from Israel, which is to halt plans to annex lands in the occupied West Bank.