Saudi Arabia
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is still cementing his rule and cannot openly defy King Salman on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But normalizing ties with Israel may be used as leverage by both the prince and the new U.S. administration.
The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education finds attitudes in the kingdom towards Israel are becoming “more balanced and tolerant.”
Israir is scheduled to conduct the first such flight to Dubai on Dec. 1.
Amid Israel’s historic normalization process with Arab countries, more and more voices are challenging the identification of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem as the Koranic Al-Aqsa, arguing that it is actually located in Saudi Arabia.
The visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes as Israel is ramping up ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, though Iran is also in the picture.
“How can Saudi Arabia educate Saudi youth of the mutual benefits of promoting relations with Israel if Israel is not even shown on the Saudi maps?” asked ZOA national president Mort Klein.
A Houthi spokesman calls the Quds-2-type missile used in the attack “very accurate” and warns that “operations will continue.”
The meeting between the Israeli prime minister and the Saudi crown prince is “an insult to the nation and an invitation to attack Palestinian rights,” according to senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was also present at the meeting in Neom, Saudi Arabia, which was reportedly arranged by U.S. Special Representative for Iran Elliott Abrams.
“I think Gulf states are hoping that Joe Biden will govern as a centrist with an experienced team and will address the weaknesses of the JCPOA,” said Ali Shihabi, an author and commentator on the Middle East with a focus on Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz called on the world to align against Iran’s nuclear and ballistic-missile programs.
“The Gulf states are not considered ‘kosher’ for leading the Sunnis,” according to Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, an expert on Turkey at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University.
