Netanyahu decries writer’s death, stresses Saudi stability

ISTANBUL — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as “horrendous” on Friday, but warned against any response that would destabilize the political status quo in Riyadh.

Khashoggi was last seen Oct. 2 as he entered Istanbul’s Saudi Consulate to collect a personal document. Turkish officials allege that he was strangled almost immediately by a hit squad sent from Riyadh, and that his body was dismembered.

Israel had been silent throughout the global firestorm that followed, although Western officials say that, behind the scenes, it has told the Trump administration that Saudi Arabia is a key partner in a region where U.S. policy is focused on countering Iran.

“What happened in the Istanbul consulate was horrendous and it should be duly dealt with. Yet at the same time I say it, it is very important for the stability ... for the region and for the world, that Saudi Arabia remain stable,” Netanyahu said while visiting Bulgaria.

In an op-ed published Friday in The Washington Post, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest level of the Saudi government, adding that the international community had the responsibility to “reveal the puppet masters” behind the slaying.

Erdogan said he didn’t believe Saudi King Salman ordered the killing, nor did he mention Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But few in Turkey and elsewhere believe the crime could have been done without the knowledge of the kingdom’s powerful heir apparent.

DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/GETTY-AFP Activists for Amnesty International place a mock street sign in front of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in London on Friday to mark one month since journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.