Unlikely Allies: Israel and the Saudis

(Spectator-UK) John R. Bradley - Israel's Channel 2 interviewed Saudi policy analyst Abed al-Hamid Hakim last week in Jeddah. After word of the interview got out in Saudi Arabia, there was no serious backlash. Having worked for a number of years in the heart of the government-controlled media in Jeddah, I know that such an interview could never have taken place without the go-ahead from the very highest levels of the Saudi regime. An equally unprecedented column about the Jewish state duly appeared in the Saudi daily Al Riyadh, which is closely guided and monitored by the government. After praising the peace accords Israel has signed with Egypt and Jordan, Musaid al-Asimi wrote that there was no reason for Arabs to "unjustifiably demonize" Israel. Iran, not Israel, he concluded, must henceforth be considered Saudi Arabia's regional enemy.


2017-06-22 00:00:00

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