Top national security officials from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine secretly convened in Riyadh 10 days ago to coordinate plans for the post-war scenario in Gaza and discuss ways to involve the Palestinian Authority in governance, as reported by the American site “Axios” on Monday, January 29, 2024.
The site cited sources indicating that the meeting held in Riyadh was hosted by Saudi National Security Adviser Assistant Mohammed Al-Iyban. Other participants included the head of the Palestinian General Intelligence, Majid Faraj, and his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts, Abbas Kamel and Mohammed Rasul Al-Kilani, respectively.
The site’s sources also mentioned that American and Israeli officials were briefed on the meeting and its contents by some of the participants. Heads of the Saudi, Egyptian, and Jordanian security agencies reportedly informed Faraj that the Palestinian Authority needed to undertake serious reforms to revitalize its political leadership.
According to the American site, one of the requests made was that if a new Palestinian government is formed, the new prime minister would receive some powers that were central in recent years during the term of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
One source stated that Saudis, Egyptians, and Jordanians emphasized that these reforms were necessary for the Palestinian Authority to regain control of Gaza after a transitional period following the war.
During the meeting, the Saudi National Security Adviser stated that the kingdom remains interested in progressing towards normalization with Israel in exchange for practical, irreversible steps from Israel. These steps would pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state, “even if this state is not immediately created,” according to the American site’s report.
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