President Trump wants to broker normal ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but his proposal to transfer Palestinians out of Gaza just made that a lot harder.

Israel says it has begun preparations for the departure of Palestinians from Gaza despite widespread international rejection of President Donald Trump’s plan to empty the war-devastated territory of its population.

During his press conference, Trump suggested that Saudi Arabia was not demanding a Palestinian homeland. But statements from Saudi officials since then contradict this narrative and point to increasingly divergent views on Gaza – and indeed, the future of Palestine – between Riyadh and Washington.