Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab nation and home to Islam’s holiest sites, has made its official position on the region’s longest-running conflict clear: Full ties between the kingdom and Israel can only happen when peace is reached with the Palestinians. Yet state-backed Saudi media and clerics are signaling change is already underway 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 35-year-old prince and his 84-year-old father, King Salman, view national interests. “It’s no secret there’s a generational conflict,” said New York-based Rabbi Marc Schneier, who serves as an advisor to Bahrain’s king and has held talks in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to promote stronger ties with Jews and Israel. A big day for Bahrain’s diplomats! Rabbi Marc Schneier with @AbdullaRAK, Bahrain’s ambassador to the US. @RabbiMSchneier is active in Bahrain and elsewhere in the Arabian Gulf building understanding between Jews and Muslims. ⁦@bahdiplomatic⁩ ⁦⁦@FFEUnyc⁩ pic.twitter.com/rEG6Czc8CH — A F J C B (@AFJCBahrain) September 16, 2020 Thanks @yankihebrew! https://t.co/COENCJuziO — Rabbi Marc Schneier (@RabbiMSchneier) September 13, 2020 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. Schneier’s message was confirmed by Mossad head Yossi Cohen who shortly before boarding the plane to fly to the signing of the Israel-UAE-Bahrain peace accords, said that he expects Israel to form ties with other countries, later confirming Saudia Arabia as one of those countries in a rare interview with Channel 12 News last week. When asked during the interview if he had met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Cohen smiled and said: “I’d rather comment on that point.” יוסי כהן, ראש המוסד, לפני העליה למטוס ראש הממשלה, בדרך להסכם עם איחוד האמירויות ובחריין pic.twitter.com/N5xaHUrwRM — Gili Cohen (@gilicohen10) September 13, 2020 Yossi Cohen, the head of Israel’s #Mossad spy agency, indicated that #SaudiArabia could be next country to normalize ties with #Israel pic.twitter.com/5r27JorSBo — i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) September 17, 2020 Prominent Saudi royal, Prince Turki al-Faisal, insists “any talk of a rift between the king and the crown prince is mere speculation.” “We’ve seen none of that,” said the prince, who served for years as head of intelligence and briefly as ambassador to the U.S. 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 day-to-day control of Saudi affairs to his son, he has stepped in on occasion to intervene and even push back […]
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