Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he does not personally care about the “Palestinian issue” during a meeting earlier this year, The Atlantic reports. The conversation, which took place in January in al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, occurred amid ongoing discussions about Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel.
According to the report, the Crown Prince expressed that while he might not have personal investment in the Palestinian issue, many young Saudis do care. “Seventy percent of my population is younger than me,” he reportedly told Blinken. “For most of them, they never really knew much about the Palestinian issue. And so they’re being introduced to it for the first time through this conflict. It’s a huge problem. Do I care personally about the Palestinian issue? I don’t, but my people do, so I need to make sure this is meaningful.”
However, a Saudi official has since described this version of the conversation as “incorrect.”
Publicly, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that Saudi Arabia will not normalize ties with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state. “The Kingdom will not cease its diligent efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he said in a recent address before the Shura Council in Riyadh.
The report further revealed that the Crown Prince expressed concerns to Blinken about the personal risks of pursuing a normalization deal with Israel, citing the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat as an example of the potential dangers involved.
Despite official talks about normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the report highlights significant public opposition, with over 90% of Saudis reportedly favoring cutting ties with Israel during the early stages of the Gaza war. Meanwhile, there have been reports of crackdowns on Palestinian solidarity in Saudi Arabia, including arrests related to social media posts and the wearing of Palestinian keffiyehs in Mecca.
Prince Turki al-Faisal, another senior Saudi royal, recently dismissed claims that Palestinian solidarity is restricted in the kingdom, stating, “What I see of the Saudi press, whether written or on television or in social media, is full support for Palestine and no restriction on expressing support for Palestinians.” He also voiced skepticism about normalization with Israel, saying that the current Israeli government’s stance on Palestinian statehood made such an agreement unlikely.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
3 Responses
So why is he holding it over Israel’s head before they allegedly make peace? The fact is he’s probably full of himself like every other yishmaeli YMSH.
I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again.
THE SAUDIS DON’T CARE ABOUT THE PALESTINIANS! In fact they understand the Palestinians are a horrible, ungrateful, despicable people.
So what’s going on?
Ever try to “hondel” with an Arab in the Shul?
They ask for 200 & settle for 30.
That’s the Arab way when they know you want something they make outrageous demands.
That’s exactly what the Saudis are doing.
They are the “Zaidy” of the Sunni Arab world. When they make a deal with Israel every other Arab country becomes inconsequential.
MBS is saying to America, “How much will you give me to “forget” about the Palestinians & sign a deal with Israel?”
America is always generous in it’s offers & this is just another way for MBS to extract even more concessions (militarily, weapons, money, economy, etc) from America as he knows once a deal is made there’s no going back.
MBS (in collusion with other Saudi leaders) is just acting like you would expect an Arab to do & can you blame him? Wouldn’t you do the same?
A stupidly misleading headline, to say the least. From all the commentary, it’s pretty clear that the country supports the Palestinians, and the rulers, who may or may not be wiser about the whole situation, have to please their constituents. Certainly nothing close to “Nobody Cares”