Israel and Saudis are firm friends

CROWN Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reign in Saudi Arabia has begun. What started as a proverbial “Night of the Long Knives” has become more like a week. And it will probably stretch on far longer than that.

In recent days the de facto, but never admitted, alliance between the Saudis and Israel was outed by a leaked memo from the Israeli Foreign Ministry which discussed co-ordinating pro-Saudi/anti-IranianLebanese talking points.

On the surface, such close ties would appear a stretch, although it is far more plausible after leaked reports that when it comes to the Saudi proxy war, Israel and Saudi Arabia had been aligned from the onset of the Syrian conflict, with Israel secretly supplying Syrian rebels near its border with cash as well as food, fuel and medical supplies for years.

Israel and Saudi Arabia have invaded neighbouring lands, killing thousands of civilians. Israel has been invading and bombing Gaza since 2008. The Saudis have meanwhile interfered in the internal affairs of neighbouring Yemen. They’ve bombed markets, schools, hospitals, residences and wedding parties, displacing more than 6 million people.

Both nations supported the military coup in Egypt, which overthrew a democratically elected government and led to a brutal wave of repression .

Bin Salman, like his ally, Netanyahu, appears willing to exploit and manipulate hostility to a foreign enemy in order to bolster his domestic stature. Durban