Road to ties with Israel being paved, cautiously
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab nation and home to Islam’s holiest sites, has made its official position on the region’s longestrunning conflict clear: Full ties between the kingdom and Israel can only happen when peace is reached with the Palestinians.
Yet statebacked Saudi media and clerics are signaling change is already under way with Israel — something that can only happen under the directives of the country’s powerful heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The divergent messages on the possibility of Saudi ties with Israel reflect what analysts and insiders say is a schism between how the 35yearold prince and his 84yearold father, King Salman, view national interests.
“It’s no secret there’s a generational conflict,” said New Yorkbased Rabbi Marc Schneier, who serves as an adviser to Bahrain’s king and has held talks in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to promote stronger ties with Jews and Israel.
Gulf capitals have been increasingly looking to Israel as an ally to defend against common rival Iran amid quiet concerns about the direction of U.S. foreign policy and the uncertainty around the upcoming presidential election. But it’s not only countering Iran that’s brought Israel and Arab states closer in recent years.
The rabbi said the former Saudi ambassador to the U.S.,
Prince Khalid bin Salman, told him that the top priority of his brother, the crown prince, is reforming the Saudi economy.
“He said these exact words: ‘We will not be able to succeed without Israel.’ So for the Saudis, it’s not a question of ‘if,’ it’s a question of ‘when.’ And there’s no doubt that they will establish relations with Israel,” Schneier said.
Analysts and observers say Saudi Arabia is unlikely to formalize ties with Israel as long as King Salman wields power. While the king has handed off daytoday control of Saudi affairs to his son, he has stepped in on occasion to intervene and even push back with statements in support of the Palestinians.
Still, the crown prince has bucked tradition with an unprecedented assertiveness. Prince Mohammed is also eager to reset ties with the U.S. in the aftermath of the killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.