Saudi Arabia reaffirms support for Palestinian Authority, calls for release of withheld funds

Saudi Arabia reasserted its backing for the Palestinian Authority and its institutions, urging immediate steps to tackle the state’s financial woes and the prompt release of withheld Palestinian clearance revenues. Manal Radwan, an adviser and special envoy to the Saudi foreign minister responsible for talks and peace initiatives, presented the Kingdom’s stance at a ministerial gathering of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) at the United Nations in New York, under the chairmanship of Norway and with the co-sponsorship of the United States and the European Union.

Radwan highlighted that financial commitments ought not to be tied to reform endeavors, reiterating Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the Palestinian Authority and its entities. She underscored the significance of coordinating and merging humanitarian aid, early recovery operations, and reconstruction funding within a clear political framework that bolsters legitimate Palestinian institutions, maintains the unity of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and empowers the Palestinian Authority to resume its duties in Gaza.

Radwan noted that economic assistance cannot be detached from the current reality, citing settlement expansion, settler violence, and actions that threaten the territorial coherence and economic sustenance of an envisioned Palestinian state. She argued that such actions directly undermine Palestinian institutions and hinder the chances of establishing an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem, based on the 1967 borders.