UAE condemned Netanyahu's joke about moving Palestine to Saudi Arabia

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) condemned the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the establishment of a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia. The UAE Foreign Ministry said on February 8.

"The UAE expresses its strong condemnation of the unacceptable and provocative statements by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the establishment of a Palestinian state in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and reiterates its categorical rejection of these words, which represent a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter," the ministry said in a statement.

In addition, UAE Foreign Minister Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar expressed the state's solidarity with Saudi Arabia. He said its sovereignty is a "red line" and the Emirates will not allow anyone to encroach on it.

Al Marar also noted that the UAE does not accept any violation of the rights of the Palestinian people. He reiterated the Emirates' position on the establishment of an independent, sovereign state of Palestine.

Prior to this, the Israeli prime minister joked during an interview for Israeli television when the journalist mistakenly said the Palestinian state was a Saudi state. Netanyahu corrected his words and, smiling, added: "Unless of course you want the Palestinian state to be in Saudi Arabia, they have a large territory."

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Earlier, on February 6, interlocutors of the Axios portal said that Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to end the conflict in Gaza if the leaders of the Palestinian radical movement Hamas go into exile.

The New York Times reported the day before that US President Donald Trump's recent statements, including a proposal to establish military control over the Gaza Strip and evict Palestinians from there, have caused contradictory reactions in American society.

On the same day, UN Secretary General António Guterres urged US President Donald Trump not to resort to ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip following his statements on Palestinian resettlement.

At the time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Trump's words, reminded that Russia's position on the issue is based on the two-state principle. This thesis, he emphasized, is enshrined in the relevant article of the UN Security Council.

In addition, The Wall Street Journal learned about Trump's conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which the American leader said about "prime real estate" in Gaza.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Hamas agency launched a massive rocket attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israel began retaliatory strikes on the same day.