Senior Saudi diplomat: It’s Israel, not the PA, that most needs reform to secure peace

DOHA — A senior Saudi diplomat says that while there is much focus in the international community on the need for the Palestinian Authority to engage in a comprehensive reform process, a reform of the Israeli government is what is most needed for peace in the region. “The Palestinians have been reforming for the past 30 years. President Mahmoud Abbas had put [forward] a robust reform plan that he committed himself to, because this is good for the Palestinians,” says Manal Radwan, a minister in Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry, during an onstage panel discussion at the Doha forum.

“Saudi Arabia, of course, is committed, and we work on a daily basis with the PA to help in its reform plan, but what we need to really get a sustainable peace and security and an end to this conflict and to implement President Trump’s 20 peace plan and to implement the Security Council Resolution is a reformed Israeli government,” she says.

“We have an Israeli government that opposes the two-state solution. We have an Israeli government that has officials continuously inciting against Palestinians, against Arabs, against Muslims,” Radwan continues. “We don’t see that we have a partner for peace, not even a partner for a sustainable ceasefire. So that is the actual and the important reform that we are hoping to see.” (Read More)