Maldives government on Sunday, condemned the “irresponsible and provocative” statements made by the Prime Minister of Israel, calling for the establishment of a Palestinian State within the territory of Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 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.
But his comment comes on the back of suggestions from within the Israeli government on the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement, said the Maldives rejects any statements that threaten Saudi Arabia's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.
“Such statements constitute a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter,” the statement said.
Maldives in the statement also reiterated its support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and called upon the international community to take a firm stance against such provocative statements that undermine regional stability.
“Such statements not only violate the sovereignty of Saudi Arabia, but also represent a continued denial of the rights of the Palestinian people,” it added.
Netanyahu’s outrageous comment, condemned by Saudi Arabia and several other Arab states, follows the shock proposal from President Donald Trump that the U.S. would "take over the Gaza Strip" from Israel and create a "Riviera of the Middle East" after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
Maldives along with several other countries had also rejected Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians from their own land.