Prince Turki Al Faisal calls on UK to recognise Palestinian state now

Saudi Arabia wants to contain and end the spreading conflict from Gaza and the West Bank

Prince Turki Al-Faisal speaks at Chatham House. Photo: Chatham House

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Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki Al Faisal, the former head of intelligence and the kingdom’s ambassador to London, has called on the UK to fulfil its special historical responsibility to Palestine by going forward with recognition of it as a state.

The Saudi royal told an audience at the Chatham House think tank that he welcomed the announcement earlier this month that the new Labour government would restrict some arms supplies to Israel, as he called on the country's allies to use their power to pressure Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza.

"The United Kingdom should recognise the state of Palestine," he said. "It's long overdue. It's been passed in a previous parliament, as a resolution that asking the UK government to recognise the state of Palestine, which they have not yet done. So, hopefully this government will be able to move forward and not simply be a little reticent or shy about what it does with Israel."

Now head of the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, Prince Turki said no outside powers had been able to "put the screws on" Israel and Hamas to end a conflict in which neither side was achieving their stated goals.

He reflected the raw anger that the death toll in Gaza was rising towards 50,000, while the world was giving the impression of accepting its consequences.

Saudi Arabia wanted to contain and end the spreading conflict. "We don't want the fighting to spread wider between the people of different countries in the area," he said.

With Yemen's Houthi militia using its territorial position overlooking the Bab Al Mandeb to hold "the world hostage" by attacking global shipping, the position of Iran and its undertakings to contribute to stability in the region was under question. "If they can control the Houthis, they're definitely not doing that and if they can't control the Houthis then we're all in a bit of trouble," he said.

Prince Turki, who was also ambassador in London, added that the US-UK coalition backed up by European naval patrols had proved ineffective. "The world in these pinprick bombings that they have over Houthi positions could do more," he said. "More could be done to interdict the supply of weaponry that comes to the Houthi from Iran and put pressure on Iran."

Asked about reports of Iran sending missiles to supply the Russian war in Ukraine, Prince Turki said the linkage that Tehran wanted to show it could be a player in what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank as well as Ukraine.

The outbreak of the war almost a year ago had shattered hopes for a US-led talks process on Saudi Arabia and Israel coming to a normalisation agreement. Prince Turki said Israel was not interested in meeting Riyadh's principled demand for a Palestinian state among the countries of the world.

"The kingdom has been very active in its role as a supporter of an end to the fighting," he said. "As far as normalisation with Israel, the Kingdom talking to the United States about a relationship based on firmer ties between the Kingdom and the United States, as far as not just security but economic development and other engagement with the United States, and the United States wanting us to have normalisation with Israel.

"The Kingdom reply is that if there is a Palestinian state that Israel accepts to come into existence then we can talk about normalisation with Israel."

Two state solution

Middle East countries and partners in Europe who have recognised a state of Palestine plan to speak with a “single Arab-European-Islamic voice” at looming UN talks on the conflict, Spain’s Foreign Minister said on Friday.

Jose Manuel Albares called for a “clear calendar” in peace talks as he met representatives of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in Madrid.

He called for “firm action on the part of the international community against those on either side” attempting to derail a two-state peace settlement.

The informal group – including Spain, Slovenia and Norway, which recently recognised Palestine – is preparing for talks on the Middle East at the UN General Assembly this month, Mr Albares said.

“The countries meeting here make up a group which is not bound by geography, but brought together by a common goal, promoting co-ordinated action on the part of the international community,” he said.

“We’re moving forward to speak with a single Arab-European-Islamic voice united around the application of the two-state solution, to reinforce our co-ordination with our eye on the milestones and meetings which in the coming weeks will help decide the future of the region.”