Saudi Arabia’s former Ambassador to the US and former head of Saudi intelligence services, Prince Turki Al Faisal, slammed the US President Donald Trump’s proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip and resettle Palestinians elsewhere.
“What came out of Mr. Trump is not digestible. I respectfully decline to add more disrespectful comments to that, but it is a fantasy to think that ethnic cleansing in the 21st century can be condoned by world community that stays on its behinds and does not respond to that,” Prince Turki said.
Rejecting Trump’s Proposal
During a joint press conference on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said that the US plans to take control of Gaza and develop it economically after resettling more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza in neighboring countries, reported Reuters.
“The problem in Palestine is not the Palestinians. It is the Israeli occupation and this has been clear and understood by everybody,” Prince Turki Al Faisal said on Wednesday during an interview with CNN, warning that Trump’s proposal will “turn things into more conflict and more bloodshed.”
Unacceptable Justification
Prince Turki said Trump’s proposal is “a total acceptance of Israeli position by the American government.” He noted that Trump’s comments echo those of Israeli far-right politician and former minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, whom he called “the ultimate ethnic cleanser in Palestine.”
He added that Ben-Gvir has been saying this for the last two-and-a-half years “and now he’s justifying what he said by the words of the American president. That is unacceptable.”
A Collective Action
In response to Trump’s proposal, Prince Turki expected “a collective action on part of the Arab and Muslim World, along with Europeans and other countries that believe in the two-state solution to go to the UN.”
President Trump's proposal will only mean "more conflict and more bloodshed," warns former Saudi intel chief Prince Turki al Faisal. "It is a fantasy to think that ethnic cleansing in the 21st century can be condoned… There's no way that I can explain it." pic.twitter.com/nxRgtuE9Ja
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) February 5, 2025
But with US veto, Prince Turki did not expect “much success in passing any resolutions. But this will show that the world is opposed to this mad ethnic cleansing plan,” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s Firm Position
The former Saudi ambassador to the US pointed to the Saudi Foreign Ministry’s statement which reiterated the Kingdom’s position that it will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“This has been the position of Saudi Arabia from the beginning,” Prince Turki said.
Prince Turki said that if Trump visited Saudi Arabia, “he will get an earful from the leadership here about the unwisdom of what he is proposing and the downright unfairness and injustice that is really signified and totally placed in this proposal of ethnic cleansing from not only Gaza but what is happening in the West Bank.”
