Saudi Crown Prince Endorses ‘Legitimate’ Palestinian Right To Jerusalem

According to official Palestinian media, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman sent a letter to President Mahmoud Abbas expressing Riyadh’s support for “legitimate [Palestinian] rights” in east Jerusalem. Wafa’s report is in sharp contrast to multiple publications over the past few months claiming that bin Salman has adopted positions on the peace process closer to those of both the Trump administration and Israeli government. In one widely-cited example, the New York Times alleged that after summoning Abbas to the Saudi capital in November, bin Salman revealed to him details of an evolving American (and Saudi-supported) peace plan that envisions the Palestinians receiving only limited sovereignty over non-contiguous parts of the West Bank; requires the Palestinians to forego the so-called “Right of Return” for refugees—those displaced during the 1948 war between Israel and Arab nations—and their descendants; and stipulates that Jerusalem remain the undivided capital of Israel. In an apparent about-face, then, the crown prince reportedly wrote Abbas over the weekend that Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “will not change or infringe on the Palestinian people’s immutable and well-protected rights in [the city] and other places in the occupied Palestinian lands.” While rumors about the White House’s peace proposal continue to swirl, American officials last week rejected all such speculation and reiterated that the plan has not yet been completed.