Ever since the brutal bombardment of Gaza began in October 2023, the eyes of the Muslim diaspora have been on the leader of the Muslim nations – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to take a deceitful stance on the ‘Issue of Palestine’. The Saudi’s position with Israel might be baffling to many but it is not complicated. Saudi Arabia has embarked on a journey to haul its economy by maintaining a relationship with Israel. The plan is three fold – to strategically develop new economic avenues ,to strengthen ties with the US and most importantly to debilitate Iran’s position in the middle east.
Saudi Arabia,the king of the Middle East has although not openly shared a stance of supporting Israel and contributing to the genocide but has indirectly been involved in making peaceful relations with Israel.
The Shipment Agreement
There have been many instances where Saudi Arabia has failed to conceal its relationship with Israel; its shipment being the primary. By tracking the supply chain of crude oil to Israel, the research has exposed various countries that contribute to Israel, Saudi Arabia being one of them. A research conducted by DataDesk, commissioned by Oil Change International revealed that Saudi Arabia is implicated in supplying Israel with fuel for its war machine.
Reportedly Israel receives relatively small but regular shipments of crude via the Sumed pipeline. The pipeline receives crude oil from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, and from Egypt, through which the pipeline also travels. All of these countries have condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Columnist Chris Doyle had said “A normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is a question of when not if. “The relationship would not only be beneficial for MBS and Netanyahu but also for Biden as he goes into election season with a desperate president Biden breathing down MBS’s neck , the Saudi gov seems to be taken inconsistent stance on the issue of Palestine MBS seems to be supporting Palestine and a ceasefire deal with his words but his actions show a more tangible support for Israel.
Peaceful Ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel
For months, Saudi Arabia and Israel – with the United States – had been discussing an agreement to normalise relations. Saudi Arabia still believed in establishing ties with Israel despite the “deplorable” casualty figures in Gaza. However, it has said it would not “come at the cost of the Palestinian people”.Saudi Arabia is also said to share a relationship with Israel on Intelligence sharing and security concerns related to regional stability.
Although an official normalization deal between the two has not been carried out , Saudi Arabia has backed Israel on several occasions. According to Channel 12 Arab affairs analyst Ehud Ya’ari, most of the states present at today’s Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Riyadh sought to include in the meeting’s closing statement five additional clauses that were rejected by Israel’s Arab peace partners and some others, including the demand to sever all ties with Israel.
The rejected demands were: to prevent the transfer of US military equipment to Israel from US bases in the region; to freeze all diplomatic and economic contacts with Israel; to threaten to use oil as a means of leverage; to bar flights to and from Israel through Arab states’ airspace; and to dispatch a joint delegation to the US, Europe, and Russia to push for a ceasefire.
The countries that rejected these demands were Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, Mauritania, Djibouti, Jordan and Egypt, Ya’ari says.
Meanwhile, as reported by the International Bar Association , all the Arab nations will finally become the allies of Israel, and will prepare for the ‘deal of the century’. A phrase coined by Egyptian General-turned-President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and extensively adopted by Arab media.
Historic Relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel
However, the Saudi- Israeli relationship is not new; in 2015, both countries acknowledged that they had been holding secret meetings to discuss Iranian ambitions in the region, though they conceded there remained differences over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
In 2016, former Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Turki al-Faisal met and shook hands publicly with General Yaakov Amidror, a former senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Washington Institute, a pro-Israel think tank in Washington.
Later in 2016, a former Saudi General, Anwar Eshki, leading a team of businessmen and academics, held unprecedented talks with Israeli members of the Knesset. Eshki has since appeared on television speaking in favour of a deal with Israel.
The Saudis, as guardians of Islam’s two holiest sites, know that any recognition deal with Israel that affects the delivery of Palestinian statehood would create outrage by Muslims all over the globe. At the same time, For Saudi Arabia, a US security guarantee will safeguard its future, while normalisation with Israel will provide a valuable strategic partner for managing the region and a source of economic dynamism. And it would burnish Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s modernising and reformist credentials.
The Trade Figures between the Two
Reportedly Israel exports to Saudi Arabia was US$55 thousand during 2022, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. Israel Exports to Saudi Arabia – data, historical chart and statistics – was last updated in June of 2024.
Saudi Arabia’s actions domestically also indicate an inclination towards having a supportive stance of Israel . It has detained individuals showing support for Palestine and praying for it. Reportedly, a British actor and presenter, Islah Abdur Rahman, during a pilgrimage in Mecca, was detained for wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh and carrying a Palestinian- coloured tasbih. There have been several reports of such detentions and a general restriction for showing support for Palestine .
The war in Gaza has put a halt on the official normalization process between Saudi and Israel but to say that the relationship has soured is an overstatement.
