Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority held a secret meeting in Riyadh ten days ago to coordinate plans for the aftermath of the war in Gaza and to discuss ways to involve a reinvigorated Palestinian Authority to govern the strip, American news website Axios reported on Sunday, based on intel from three sources with knowledge.
The meeting indicates increased coordination between Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority in recent months, in particular since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
While the Palestinian Authority and its Arab allies have been increasingly engaging in planning for the post-conflict period, the Israeli government has said little about its vision for the governance of Gaza if it achieves its goal of defeating Hamas.
The news outlet highlighted Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stringent opposition to allowing the Palestinian Authority having a role in Gaza, but noted he has not proposed an alternative.
In the meantime, Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Herzi Halevi has warned the Israeli security cabinet that military gains in Gaza could be squandered without an Israeli diplomatic plan for the aftermath.
According to Axios, Saudi Arabia’s national security adviser Musaed bin Mohammed al-Aiban hosted the meeting in Riyadh, and the director of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service Majed Faraj and his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts attended the meeting.
Several participants later briefed US and Israeli officials about the meeting and what was discussed.
During the meeting, the Saudi, Egyptian, and Jordanian security chiefs emphasized to Faraj the need for the Palestinian Authority to undertake serious reforms that would enable it to revitalize its political leadership. They also requested that if a new Palestinian government is formed, the new prime minister would receive some of the authority that has been centralized under Palestinian President Abbas in recent years.
Saudi Arabia’s national security adviser also stated at the meeting that the kingdom remains interested in advancing normalization with Israel, in exchange for practical and irreversible steps by Israel that would pave the way towards a Palestinian state, even if such a state is not established immediately.
The Biden administration has been pressing the Palestinian Authority to undertake reforms and play a role in the Gaza Strip while also pushing Netanyahu to agree to discuss a post-war plan for Gaza and the potential involvement of the Palestinian Authority in a future government there. Like Saudi Arabia, US strategy has been to link Saudi-Israeli “normalization” to the creation of a pathway for the establishment of a Palestinian state.