Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas sent a letter to Saudi Arabia’s king and crown prince to express appreciation for what he described as Riyadh’s “steadfast stance” in support of the Palestinian people, the official P.A. Wafa news agency reported on Sunday.
In his letter, Abbas noted the Saudi call to “end the Israeli occupation and establish a Palestinian state with east[ern] Jerusalem as its capital,” said the report.
Abbas also conveyed gratitude to the Arab nations—the other five Gulf states, as well as Iraq, Egypt and Jordan—that participated in the summit in Jeddah on Saturday.
Abbas’s missive comes after Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister denied reports that his country has been involved in discussions on setting up a Gulf-Israeli defense alliance.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud also told journalists after the summit, which was attended by U.S. President Joe Biden, that Riyadh’s “decision to open its airspace to all air carriers [including Israeli airliners] had nothing to do with establishing diplomatic ties with Israel and was not a precursor to further steps,” according to Reuters.
