Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has condemned Israel's actions in Gaza as “genocide,” at a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders organized to press for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
His comments represent one of the strongest denunciations of Israel by a Saudi official since the current Israeli offensive began.
Addressing the summit, Prince Mohammed declared, “The kingdom renews its condemnation and categorical rejection of the genocide committed by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people, which has claimed the lives of 150,000 martyrs, wounded and missing, most of whom are women and children.” He added that Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank, especially its attacks near Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian Authority territories, severely undermine regional peace efforts and Palestinian rights.
In a move reflecting warming relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Prince Mohammed also warned Israel against any attacks on Iranian territory.
The crown prince criticized not only the situation in Gaza but also Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Iran, stating that Israel must “respect the sovereignty of the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran and not to violate its lands.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud also called the situation in Gaza a “failing of the international community,” accusing Israel of causing mass starvation. He argued that the international community had failed to “put an end to Israel’s aggression.”
This summit comes at a time of renewed dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran, rivals who severed diplomatic ties in 2016. It also reflects the country’s changing stance on Palestinian armed movements, including Hamas, which was previously blacklisted as a ‘terror’ group. Saudi Arabia recently revoked the broadcasting license of MBC, a Saudi-owned news channel, after it referred to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a “terrorist”.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's top military official, Fayyad al-Ruwaili, travelled to Tehran for talks with Iranian officials, just weeks after joint exercises in the Sea of Oman.
Leaders from Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and the Palestinian Authority echoed Saudi Arabia’s calls for an end to the violence. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi pledged to resist any plans to make Gaza uninhabitable, while Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called for “an executive plan” to halt Israel’s actions. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned what he described as Israel's “annihilation” of Palestinians, urging Arab and Muslim nations to maintain coordinated pressure against “genocide in Palestine.”
See more from the Times of Israel here, and the Middle East Eye here.
