Among the Saudi media and cultural elite, President Donald Trump’s plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has a surprising number of followers. Since the presentation, Tuesday, January 28, in Washington, of this document outrageously favorable to the Hebrew State, several influential voices of the kingdom, heavyweight of the Arab-Muslim world, criticized the decision of the Palestinian leaders to reject it.
On Twitter, where he has 350,000 subscribers, the writer Turki Al-Hamad, figure of the liberal circles, castigated the supposed "All or nothing strategy" Ramallah officials. "Politics is the art of the possible, argued this fierce supporter of Mohammed Ben Salman, known as "MBS", the crown prince who set out to dust the kingdom. What is possible today is the American project. The alternative is to lose even more soil. It is time for the Palestinians to change the way they manage their cause. "
Sprains to traditions
This claw, contrary to the traditional solidarity of the Arab peoples towards the Palestinian cause, echoes the official reaction of the crown. Riyadh has "Appreciated the efforts" of the United States and called for the resumption of negotiations, by passing through the aberrations of the Trump plan, cut and paste prescriptions from the Israeli nationalist right.
"Saudi leaders are preparing the ground for possible political change"
The Saudi government has admitted that King Salman phoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for support "Unshakeable". But he did not see fit, unlike other Arab countries, to recall the fundamentals of peace in the Middle East, such as the evacuation of Jewish settlements and the division of Jerusalem. Prerequisites recorded in 2002, in the plan of King Abdullah and that the "Vision" Donald Trump gleefully tramples.
In the columns of the English daily newspaper Arab news, showcase of the new Arabia promoted by "MBS", Abdel Rahman Al-Rashed, veteran of the Saudi journalistic scene, also allowed himself some deviations from traditions. "For Palestine, Trump is not the most dangerous threat, he said. The greatest danger to Palestinian interests is to do nothing and keep waiting for a miracle. " Another prominent columnist Mohammed Al-Shaikh on Twitter presented the Palestinians as "Professionals of wasted opportunities", a leitmotif of Israeli propaganda.
