Prince softens Saudi stance on Israel
Heir to throne says Israelis have right to a homeland and describes Iran’s leader as Hitler of the Middle East
SAUDI Arabia’s crown prince has said he believes Israelis have a right to a homeland alongside Palestinians.
When asked if he believed Israeli people had a right to a nation-state, Mohammed bin Salman, the 32-yearold heir to the Saudi throne, said: “I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land. But we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations.”
Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and has maintained for years that establishing any diplomatic relations hinges on Israel’s withdrawal from Arab lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war, territory that Palestinians seek for a future state.
The crown prince also said that, while the ultra-conservative country has “religious concerns” about the holy mosque in Jerusalem and the rights of Palestinians, it has no objection “against any other people”.
“There are a lot of interests we share with Israel and, if there is peace, there would be a lot of interest between Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries,” Prince Mohammed told The Atlantic magazine as he toured the United States.
The countries have grown closer under the crown prince, bonding over a mutual distrust of Iran, which they see as the greatest threat to their security.
Prince Mohammed described Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, as an “evil guy” who “makes Hitler look good”.
“He is the Hitler of the Middle East,” the crown prince told The Atlantic. “In the 1920s and 1930s, no one saw Hitler as a danger. Only a few people. Until it happened.”
In a phone call with Donald Trump, the US president, after the comments made by Prince Mohammed, King Salman of Saudi Arabia reiterated the country’s support for a Palestinian state.
The king also emphasised the need to advance the peace process, in comments made after Israeli security forces killed 16 Palestinians last week during a demonstration along the Israel-gaza border.
♦ Saudi Arabians who spy on their spouses’ phones face a hefty fine and up to a year in prison, under a law that aims to “protect morals of individuals and society, and protect privacy”.
The punishment applies to men and women in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom, according to the ministry of culture, but it is thought the law could be used in most instances to protect husbands from their wives finding out incriminating information.