Riyadh: As a peace initiative between Israel and Palestine, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had proposed Village of Abu Dis, a Palestinian town near occupied East Jerusalem as the future capital of Palestine instead of East Jerusalem. This has evoked widespread anger and a new hashtag under the name “Jerusalem is our capital” has been released by the activists in response to Saudi Proposal.
According to the The New York Times, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman made the proposal during Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Riyadh last month. This proposal will result in Palestinians getting a non-contiguous state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over which they will have only partial sovereignty while the majority of Israeli settlements in the West Bank will remain. This proposal does not grant the Palestinian refugees the right of return to Israel.
Two months time has been given by Saudi Arabia to Mahmoud Abbas to think about the offer.
According to Oslo Accords, Abu Dis is classified as Area B which is administered by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The decision of Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital will further strain the relations between Israel and Palestine and may create turbulent atmosphere in the Middle East which is already ravaged by continuous wars.