Egypt has strongly criticised comments by Israel‘s prime minister, in which he suggested that a Palestinian state could be established on Saudi territory.

On Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu said during an interview with Israel’s Channel 14: “The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there.”

The remarks came after Riyadh reiterated that it would only normalise relations with Israel if there was a clear pathway towards Palestinian statehood.

Without naming Netanyahu, Cairo’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that it condemned the remarks “in the strongest terms”.

“Egypt condemns the irresponsible Israeli statements that incite against the kingdom and call for the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi lands,” the ministry said.

“The security of the kingdom and respect for its sovereignty is a red line that it will not allow to be violated.”

It added that such statements were a “flagrant violation” of international law and diplomatic norms.

“The Israeli statements constitute an infringement on the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state.”

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), also reacted to Netanyahu’s statement, calling it “a violation of international law and international conventions”.

“We affirm that the State of Palestine will only be on the land of Palestine, and we appreciate the positions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its leadership and people, which always call for the implementation of international legitimacy and international law,” Sheikh said on Saturday.

During his visit to the US, Netanyahu reiterated his rejection of a Palestinian state.

“Especially not a Palestinian state,” he told reporters on Thursday. “After October 7? Do you know what that is? There was a Palestinian state; it was called Gaza. Gaza, led by Hamas, was a Palestinian state and look what we got.”

His comments followed a joint press conference with Donald Trump, in which the US president announced his plan for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and transform the Palestinian enclave into the “Riviera of the Mediterranean”, with the US taking over the territory.

The two leaders discussed normalisation with Saudi Arabia, and Netanyahu strongly dismissed Saudi Arabia’s key condition of establishing a Palestinian state while insisting that peace between Israel and the kingdom was a reality to come.

“It is not only feasible, I think it’s going to happen,” he said.

The press conference was quickly followed by a statement from Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry, reaffirming the kingdom’s stance on Palestinian statehood was “firm and unwavering”.

“His Royal Highness [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] emphasised that Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the statement read.

On Friday, several British lawmakers condemned Netanyahu’s suggestion.

Labour MP Afzal Khan told Middle East Eye: “Palestinians do not need more displacement. They need a free homeland.

“Netanyahu’s barbaric proposals would be the forced removal of a population and a plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza.”

Another Labour MP, Kim Johnson, told MEE that Netanyahu’s comments were “absurd and insulting”.