The development has been revealed by a number of US-based news outlets, which have cited Palestinian weekly al-Minar as reporting that the secret US-Saudi agreement came following a recent visit to Riyadh by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Quoting an “informed source,” the Palestinian weekly further reports that during Kerry’s visit to the Saudi capital, the kingdom’s authorities expressed their readiness to carry out the US scheme of placing the Palestinian refugees in foreign-based housing units and also assume major funding of the huge project.

According to the source, the Saudis also pledged to convince various countries to accept the Palestinians by offering them “financial” incentives.

The source further quoted a member of the US delegation accompanying Kerry to Riyadh as saying that the Saudis openly expressed their willingness to also exert pressure on Palestinian authorities to implement US strategies concerning the Palestinian refugees.

Political observers in the region believe the secret deal also has the full blessing of the Israeli regime, which considers the Palestinian right of return issue as a major stumbling block in their US-sponsored negotiations with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.

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