Benjamin Netanyahu tells UN Israel is on cusp of Saudi peace deal that would create a ‘new Middle East’
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the United Nations General Assembly that his country is on the cusp of a historic peace deal with Saudi Arabia and an agreement would create a “new Middle East”.
Speaking in New York on Friday afternoon, Mr Netanyahu invoked the 2021 Abraham Accords that saw Israel normalise relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, and said that a deal with Saudi Arabia would be even greater.
“The Abraham Accords ushered in another dramatic change. It brought Arabs and Jews closer together,” he said.
“There is no question the Abraham Accords heralded the dawn of a new age of peace.
“But I believe we are at the cusp of an even more dramatic breakthrough and historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”
Provoking memories of his 2012 speech, when he drew a red line over a diagram of a nuclear bomb, Mr Netanyahu again used visual aids during the speech – this time a map labelled The New Middle East to demonstrate the benefits that a deal might deliver.
“The blessing of a new Middle East between Israel, Saudi Arabia and other neighbours will not only bring down barriers between Israel and our neighbours.
“We will build a new corridor of peace and prosperity that connects Asia through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel to Europe.
“Just as we achieved the Abraham Accords under the leadership of President Trump, I truly believe we can achieve peace with Saudi Arabia under the leadership of President Biden.”
Mr Netanyahu, left, and Joe Biden earlier this month
However, there was no mention of Palestine on the map and only a brief, dismissive mention when addressing a possible Saudi peace deal.
“The Palestinians must not be given a veto on peace in the Middle East,” he said.
“They are only 2% of the Arab world, and when they see it has reconciled with Israel, there will be an opportunity for them as well.”
Pressure to not make concessions for Palestinians
Mr Netanyahu has long believed he can force Palestinians to make peace with Israel by making peace deals with other Arab states, thereby isolating the Palestinians.
Senior members of his current right-wing have openly said they will reject any deal if it involves significant concessions to the Palestinians, however, Saudi Arabia and the United States have made it a central condition to any deal, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman telling US television this week: “For us, the Palestinian issue is very important. We need to solve that part.
“We’ve got to see where we go. We hope that will reach a place, that it will ease the life of the Palestinians, and get Israel as a player in the Middle East.”
Mohammad Bin Salman has hinted Saudi Arabia will reach a deal with Israel. Pic: AP
As is traditional when he addresses the annual diplomatic gathering, Mr Netanyahu also spoke at length about the threat posed from Iran.
“Eight years ago, the western powers promised that if Iran violated the nuclear deal, the sanctions would be snapped back. Well Iran is violating the deal, but the sanctions have not been snapped back. This policy must change.
“Iran must face a credible threat. As long as I’m prime minister of Israel, I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.”
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The Iran delegation was notably absent from the chamber.
Although diplomacy towards an Israeli-Saudi deal has been gathering pace over recent months, it has been notable how open and optimistic the US, Saudi and Israeli leaders have been over the past week in New York.
Although the will to finalise a deal appears to be evident on all sides, there remain significant hurdles to overcome.
Aside from the Palestinian issue and how Mr Netanyahu navigates his government on that, President Biden will have to push hard to get the deal through the US Congress, where many are hostile towards Saudi Arabia on account of the Kingdom’s human rights record.
A new aid system has opened its first distribution centres in Gaza, according to a US-backed organisation dealing with supplies.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began its operations in the territory on Monday, following the resignation of its director, Jake Wood, over its independence.
Gaza’s 2.3m population has been pushed towards famine by Israel’s almost three-month blockade.
Boxes of aid to be distributed across Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
The GHF said lorryloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution to Palestinians had begun.
“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.
The controversial group, backed by Israel and the United States, has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups.
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People line up for food in Gaza
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.
They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.
In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.
Palestinians are having to search through rubbish to find food
She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.
“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”
Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.
It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.
It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.
Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.
Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.
It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.
Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.
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Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.
A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.
It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.
“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.
The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.
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At least 31 dead after school attack
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.
Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.
More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.
Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.
King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.
“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.
John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.
“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.
“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.
“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”
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John Jefkins
John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.
“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.
“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”
The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”
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King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.
On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.
Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.
“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”
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