A report in the BBC on Wednesday outlines the demands made by the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of a deal which would see Israel and Saudi Arabia normalizing ties. These include a cash boost of hundreds of millions of dollars and more control of land in Judea and Samaria, said the report, which came as PA officials held talks in Riyadh with Saudi counterparts on Wednesday. They were also due to see US officials. The team of top PA officials in Riyadh, including intelligence chief Majed Faraj and Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, met Saudi national security adviser Musaed al-Aiban on Wednesday, according to a senior PA official familiar with the discussions. Their list of demands in return for engaging with the American-backed process was set out during a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf last week in Amman. The PA official told the BBC the demands include: Transferring parts of Judea and Samaria in Area C, which is under full Israeli control, to the governance of the Palestinian Authority. A "complete cessation" of Israeli construction of towns in Judea and Samaria. Resuming Saudi financial support to the PA, which slowed from 2016 and stopped completely three years ago, to the tune of around $200 million per year. Re-opening the US consulate in Jerusalem which was shut down by former US President Donald Trump. Resuming US-brokered negotiations between Israel and the PA from where they stopped under then-Secretary of State John Kerry in 2014. The BBC report came hours after a Palestinian Arab source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper that Leaf demanded that the PA not set preconditions for Saudi Arabia regarding a normalization agreement between it and Israel. According to the source, Leaf said that the US is interested in normalization without a diplomatic price connected to the Palestinian Arabs. A recent report indicated that the United States and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the broad outlines of a deal for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel in exchange for concessions to the Palestinian Arabs. Saudi officials have repeatedly said that a Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital is a prerequisite for Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel. As part of the process, The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Saudi Arabia is offering to resume financial support to the Palestinian Authority. On Tuesday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said there was no imminent breakthrough for a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Sullivan’s comments came during a press briefing. He had been asked about phone calls that Secretary of State Antony Blinken made earlier in the day to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and whether those calls meant steps towards normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia were forthcoming. Related articles: Saudi official condemns Trump’s Gaza plan 'No normalization with Israel without a Palestinian state' 'Sovereignty is part of the absolute victory!' 'There will be no normalization without a Palestinian state' “With respect to Secretary Blinken’s calls, I wouldn’t describe them as ‘run of the mill’ or ‘routine.’ He speaks with these leaders occasionally, but not every month. But it also does not portend any imminent breakthrough or action with respect to the question of normalization,” replied Sullivan. “It’s an important moment for a check-in at a high level, and Secretary Blinken is well poised to do that, given his relationships with both men and the central role that he is playing in efforts to explore whether in fact a broader normalization is possible,” he continued, before adding, “But beyond that, I won’t characterize the call.”
