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Just hours after Israel broke the ceasefire last month and resumed its military operations in Gaza, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry released a resolute statement condemning Israel’s bombardment of civilian areas, demanding an “immediate cessation of Israeli killing, violence, and destruction, as well as the protection of Palestinian civilians from the unjust Israeli war machine.” This not only reflected the kingdom’s anger and frustration with Israeli military actions, but also signaled its increasingly hardening tone towards Israel.
Even as recently as February, news reports and commentaries on a potential Saudi-Israel normalization deal continued to surface, despite mounting anger across the region. Brokered by Washington, the proposed peace effort would aim to secure a defense pact between the United States and Saudi Arabia in exchange for normalizing ties with Israel. U.S. decisionmakers insisted that a deal was in its final stages, and recently, a giant billboard appeared in Washington, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv depicting Trump and Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) shaking hands with an Israeli flag in the background. The sign proclaimed, “Israel is ready.”
However, news of the negotiations has grown sparse, likely due to the resumption of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza and explicit plans to ethnically cleanse the enclave that have only escalated public outrage in Saudi Arabia. Thus to the extent that talks are ongoing, they are volatile and fragile, and will remain closely guarded by the Saudi leadership — as the kingdom continues to call out Israel’s actions in Gaza and position itself as a champion of the Palestinian cause.
