Rhetoric recently used by Palestinian officials suggests that the animosity between the Palestinian Authority and the House of Saud, the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia, has grown, Israel Hayom learned over the weekend.
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Tensions between Ramallah and Riyadh have increased over US President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East, expected to begin on Wednesday. Biden is scheduled to take a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Jeddah, and as it stands to be the first-ever such flight, the Palestinians see it as a sign that rapprochement between the Jewish state and the Gulf power is pending.
Saudi King Salman has repeatedly said that the kingdom will not forge peace with Israel until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved, and top sources in Ramallah say that the warming ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia are perceived by the Palestinian leadership as a betrayal of the principles set in the 2022 Arab peace initiative.
A sign that relations have been strained further was evident in a change in which Palestinian media and officials have been referring to the kingdom, as they now seem to refrain from calling it by its modern name.
Saudi Arabia is home to Mecca, Islam's holiest city. Each year, millions of Muslims travel to Mecca to perform the Hajj – a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime. This year, however, Palestinian telecasts covering the pilgrimage used the term "al-diar al-Hejaziya" – or "the land of Hejaziya" – rather than using the terms "Saudia" or the "Saudi kingdom."
The term, which dates back to the 7th century, does not refer to Saudi Arabia as a whole, but rather to a western area of it where the Emirate of Diriyah – the first Saudi state – was formed by tribal chief Muhammad bin Saud.
It is also a term used by groups opposing the royal family, including Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, to express the fact that they do not recognize the House of Saud's right to rule over the Gulf power.
The royal family takes the use of such rhetoric very seriously, as they see it as an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of their rule. This is also reminiscent of Palestinian rhetoric vis-à-vis Israel, to which they often refer as the "Zionist entity" or the "occupation entity."
Riyadh officials are convinced that the recent use of the term by Palestinian media was deliberate – an assumption bolstered by the fact that the Palestinian Consulate in Jeddah used the term on its Facebook page recently – and is part of Ramallah's smear campaign against Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, as the latter two are part of the historic Abraham Accords.
Saudi activists and officials close to the regime did not pull their punches in response, mounting an unprecedented verbal attack against the Palestinian Authority and its officials, including accusing PA President Mahmoud Abbas of employing "anti-Saudi policies on orders from his masters in Iran."
Ramallah's conduct is especially vexing to Riyadh given that Saudi Arabia is one of the top donor countries to the Palestinian Authority, having given it over $6.5 billion over the past two decades. Between 2000 and 2020, some $250 million were allocated to UNRWA, making the Saudis a top donor to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, as well.
A top Palestinian official told Israel Hayom that "even if this is all a 'mistake', Abbas will have to apologize to prevent a worse crisis" with Saudi Arabia.
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