The New York Times published a report on Tuesday, under the headline “While the Saudis Consider an Agreement with Israel, the Palestinians Seek to Gain Influence on the Talks,” in which it was stated that “when a group of three Arab countries established historic diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020, the leadership considered Practical Palestinian betrayal: the accords ended a decades-old Arab practice of renouncing Israel until a Palestinian state was created, but three years later, and in the midst of US efforts to broker a similar agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Palestinian leaders are embracing a different path of communication.

The report explains: “As three senior Palestinian envoys arrive in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on Tuesday, for discussions about the demands that Saudi Arabia can make on behalf of the Palestinians in return for establishing relations with Israel, this approach reflects the dynamic that occurred in 2020, when Bahrain established And Morocco and the United Arab Emirates have relations with Israel without consulting the Palestinians, let alone winning permanent concessions for them, and at that time, the Palestinians were only condemning the process.

The report adds: "While Palestinian enthusiasm for the normalization process remains negligible, this shift embodies how the Palestinian leadership now feels it has more to gain by participating in negotiations, at least at this early stage. Since assuming power last December, the right-wing government has strengthened Extremists in Israel have gained control of the occupied West Bank and announced massive expansions in Israeli settlements, which makes the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state more remote, and engagement with Saudi Arabia provides an opportunity for the Palestinians to maintain regional support for their cause at a time when its momentum is waning.

The report quotes Ibrahim Dalalsheh, an analyst based in Ramallah, in the West Bank, as saying that they have “basically internalized their past mistake.” In 2020, they “really felt that their reaction came at a great cost to them,” and now they have “rethought the whole process.” "There is no other alternative for the Palestinians," he added.

For their part, the Saudis are also seeking greater concessions than those offered in 2020 to their Emirati neighbors: "In exchange for normalization, Riyadh wants greater military cooperation with the United States, as well as US support for a civilian nuclear program; but it also wants concessions from Israel." meaningful to the Palestinians and considering what to demand, according to diplomats familiar with the negotiations, and in 2020 the Emirati leadership got only a symbolic gesture: the temporary delay of Israel's plans to annex the West Bank.Analysts believe the Saudis, aware of their powerful role in the Middle East, want Winning something more important for the Palestinians."

The report attributes to Ghassan al-Khatib, a former Palestinian minister and analyst based in Ramallah, as saying that "Saudi Arabia considers itself the leader on the Islamic level, and therefore it is trying to act in this way."

The report quotes Majdi al-Khalidi, one of the three senior Palestinian officials who traveled to Riyadh, as saying in a telephone interview that "there is only one demand, which is the implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative," referring to a Saudi-sponsored plan published in 2002 that called for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Khalidi, a foreign policy adviser to Mahmoud Abbas, denied that his government had made any proposals on a smaller scale, “but privately, Palestinian officials have discussed pushing for more modest concessions, though they are still not fundamentally possible, according to six informed diplomats.” On the discussions, they requested anonymity in order to speak more freely. A list of Palestinian talking points was seen by the newspaper.

According to the report, "These demands include restoring Saudi financial support to the Palestinians, which was gradually canceled in the past years after a prominent Saudi official expressed his frustration with the perceived Palestinian ingratitude. The Palestinian demands also include US support for full Palestinian membership in the United Nations, and the transfer of more From territories to Palestinian administrative control in the West Bank, the resumption of Saudi financial support may be a possible outcome of the Palestinian outreach, but other demands seem overly ambitious.