RIYADH (Realist English). Saudi Arabia intends to take a leading role in post-war Gaza by helping to disarm and marginalize Hamas, support an international peacekeeping mission, and provide financial and logistical backing to the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to an internal foreign ministry report obtained by Middle East Eye.
The document presents the kingdom’s “vision for enhancing stability in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories,” emphasizing that long-term peace can only be achieved by reducing Hamas’s role in governance and reforming the PA “to serve the aspirations of the Palestinian people for an independent, sovereign state on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital.”
The report states that Riyadh will promote “progressive” disarmament of Hamas through international and regional agreements “guaranteeing neutrality.” It also proposes that administrative control in Gaza be gradually transferred to the PA, linking the process to a two-state solution framework.
Saudi officials argue that Hamas has “obstructed peace efforts and deepened divisions” and should therefore be politically isolated. The plan will be coordinated with Egypt, Jordan, and the PA, under the guidance of Manal bint Hassan Radwan, a rising figure in the Saudi foreign ministry.
The Palestinian Authority, dominated by Fatah, has had no administrative presence in Gaza since 2007, when clashes erupted after Hamas won legislative elections. Riyadh’s blueprint calls for institutional reforms within the PA, targeting corruption, improving efficiency, and ensuring broader representation of Palestinian factions. “Reforming the Authority is a fundamental pillar for achieving national unity and transparent governance,” the report says.
Saudi Arabia is also prepared to offer financial and technical assistance to strengthen the PA’s capacity to deliver essential public services. The document does not specify the size of the planned funding but proposes regional conferences and dialogue initiatives to promote Palestinian reconciliation.
Notably, Israel is not mentioned in the report, and it remains unclear whether Hamas would be included in any future political dialogue.
The document, dated 29 September, follows Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s address to the UN General Assembly, in which he urged the international community to halt Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Earlier in the summer, Saudi Arabia and France jointly advocated for a Gaza peace framework that would end the war, deploy an international security force, and relaunch Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Although U.S. President Donald Trump’s separate ceasefire deal—brokered in early October—ultimately prevailed, many elements of the Saudi-French initiative appear to have been incorporated.
Trump’s agreement included a partial Israeli troop withdrawal and a prisoner exchange, alongside a demand that Hamas disarm—something the movement has said would occur only after the establishment of a fully independent Palestinian state.
At a September meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Trump asked key Arab and Muslim-majority countries — including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar, and Indonesia — to contribute troops to a proposed international stabilization force for Gaza.
However, when Trump later convened a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss Gaza’s future, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan were notably absent. Regional sources told MEE their no-show reflected frustration over the limited roles Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were given in the U.S.-led peace process.
As the wealthiest Arab states, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are expected to finance much of Gaza’s reconstruction and humanitarian recovery.
Meanwhile, in Israel, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rejected the idea of any normalization deal with Riyadh tied to Palestinian statehood. “If Saudi Arabia says normalization comes in exchange for a Palestinian state — then no, thank you,” he said. “Keep riding your camels in the desert; we’ll continue building our economy and our state.”
