Handsome Saudi King Lacks Sense of Netanyahu's Humor

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                                                                                    

If you squint your eyes, you will see Jordan, bigger than Israel but small in comparison to the giants.                                                          

    Mohammed bin Salman, king of Saudi Arabia  (born August 31, 

1985) is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, known for his aggressive foreign policy, ambitious economic vision, and controversial social reforms. He formally serves 

as crown prince (2017– ) and prime minister (2022– ) and has previously served as minister of defense (2015–22). He is the son of Saudi King Salman bin   Abdulaziz and his third wife Fahdah bint Falāḥ ibn Sulṭān.

Saudi Arabia has accused the Israeli government of pursuing an "extremist, occupying mentality" amid a growing row over the suggestion it could house millions of Palestinians in the kingdom.

"CAIRO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia affirmed its categorical rejection of remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about displacing Palestinians from their land, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.                   

                                                    

via Xinhua ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-NETANYAHU-PRE

Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked criticism from Saudi Arabia after suggesting that a Palestinian state could be established there as they have “a lot of land.”

Israeli officials have suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory. Netanyahu appeared to be joking on Thursday when he responded to an interviewer on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 who mistakenly said "Saudi state" instead of "Palestinian state", before correcting himself.

Speaking to a pro-government channel over the weekend, Netanyahu replied to the slip of a tongue by the interviewer who said there would be no advance on normalization with Saudi Arabia without a "Saudi State".  

You mean a Palestinian state, unless of course you want a Palestinian state to be in Saudi?,” laughed the Israeli PM.“They have a lot of land there, a lot of land,”  he said in an interview with Channel 14.

After all !  Saudi Arabia is a huge land mass compared to Israel;  having 830,000 square miles    to Israel's wee 8,355 square miles of land.  That means that Arabia has more  square miles of land;  compared to 821,645 more square miles than Israel!  Who really has room for a Palestinian State of the Saudi "brothers?"

The kingdom said it valued "brotherly" states' rejection of Netanyahu's remarks."  So that makes 3 countries against the idea;  Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.  The trio doesn't want any part of Israel's problems in contending with the Palestinians. Jordan had their experience with "Black September"days,  their war with the Palestinians,   also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was September 1970, though certain aspects of the conflict continued until 17 July 1971.  That lasted a year.  It seems like Israel has had to fight them defensively ever since then. Palestinians are not  a desirable neighbor for anyone.  

According to current data, Saudi Arabia has a land area of approximately 2,149,690 square kilometers (830,000 square miles) and a population estimated around 34,566,328 people.  That's 34 million, 566 thousand, 328 people.  

Egypt has a total land area of approximately 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,662 square miles) and a population of around 117 million people, making it the most populated country in the Middle East and one of the most densely populated in Africa, with most people living along the Nile River valley and delta due to the arid climate;. 

According to current data, Jordan has a land area of approximately 89,342 square kilometers (34,495 square miles) and a population of around 11.5 million people.        

Israel's population is about 9.5 million people, and its land area is about 8,355 square miles. This gives Israel a population density of about 1,139 people per square mile. 

Palestinian Population	1,997,328 (Gaza Strip – 2022 est.) 3,000,021 (West Bank –Judea and Samaria  2022 est.)

   Total=4,997,3349  (almost 5 million) Palestinian Arabs; 20% of Israel are citizens of Israel or about 1/5th.  

Resource:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBTNgYoPU60

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-rejects-remarks-by-israels-netanyahu-about-displacing-palestinians-2025-02-09/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_State_of_Palestine