Any future Palestinian entity in Gaza will not take the shape of a traditional state but "more like an emirate" under regional protection, according to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Sunday.
"To my friends in Israel, there will not be normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel unless we come up with a plan to allow the Palestinians to have an independent, sovereign country that doesn't threaten Israel," Graham told Sunday's "Meet the Press" with host Kristen Welker.
"To my western European friends and allies, there will never be a Palestinian state after Oct. 7 as previously envisioned. The borders will have to change to make sure Israel is never attacked again.
"It won't be a state, it will be more like an emirate. It will probably be a protector of Saudi Arabia."
Graham was speaking as Hamas planned to release an estimated 20 remaining living hostages it has held since Oct. 7, 2023 under the 20-point peace plan brought forth by President Donald Trump, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
It all came together because the world finally was able to take the pressure off Israel and put it on Hamas terrorists through the allies in the region, including majority Muslim and Arab countries, a first for the Middle East in boxing out Hamas and Iran, myriad peace experts told Newsmax this week.
Graham praised recent U.S. and Arab diplomatic efforts and Israeli concessions, calling the moment a "perfect storm for peace."
"But to those who want to annex the West Bank, if you tried to do that in Israel, you will blow all of this up," Graham continued. "To those who want to push a state on Israel as if Oct.7 never happened, you are going to fail miserably.
"I think there's a path forward to a sovereign independent Palestine but none of that is possible until you get rid of Hezbollah. Because Hezbollah will do the same thing in the future to blow this up, as Hamas did in the past.
"So you have to keep Iran in the box."
An emirate is a political territory or region that is ruled by an emir — typically a monarch or hereditary ruler — and often functions as part of a larger federation rather than being fully sovereign on the global stage.
A clear example is Dubai, which is one of the seven emirates within the United Arab Emirates. In contrast, an independent nation-state is a fully sovereign country that exercises complete control over its own territory, government, and foreign relations.
Nation-states have international legal recognition and conduct their own diplomacy, whereas emirates might share or delegate these powers to a federal authority.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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