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Trump has persuaded UAE and Bahrain to deal with Israel. Is Saudi Arabia next in line?

  • In Washington, a State Department official said the United States was encouraged by warming ties
  • Saudi Arabia and Israel’s mutual fear of Iran may be a key driver for the development of ties

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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, US President Donald Trump and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner. Photo: Reuters
Reuters

When one of Saudi Arabia’s leading clerics called this month for Muslims to avoid “passionate emotions and fiery enthusiasm” towards Jews, it was a marked change in tone for someone who has shed tears preaching about Palestine in the past.

The sermon by Abdulrahman al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, broadcast on Saudi state television on September 5, came three weeks after the United Arab Emirates agreed a historic deal to normalise relations with Israel and days before the Gulf state of Bahrain, a close Saudi ally, followed suit.

Sudais, who in past sermons prayed for Palestinians to have victory over the “invader and aggressor” Jews, spoke about how the Prophet Mohammad was good to his Jewish neighbour and argued the best way to persuade Jews to convert to Islam was to “treat them well”.

While Saudi Arabia is not expected to follow the example of its Gulf allies any time soon, Sudais’ remarks could be a clue to how the kingdom approaches the sensitive subject of warming to Israel – a once inconceivable prospect. Appointed by the king, he is one of the country’s most influential figures, reflecting the views of its conservative religious establishment as well as the Royal Court.
The dramatic agreements with the UAE and Bahrain were a coup for Israel and US President Donald Trump who is portraying himself as a peacemaker ahead of November elections.
But the big diplomatic prize for an Israel deal would be Saudi Arabia, whose king is the Custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, and rules the world’s largest oil exporter.

Marc Owen Jones, an academic from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, said the UAE and Bahrain’s normalisation has allowed Saudi Arabia to test public opinion, but a formal deal with Israel would be a “large task” for the kingdom.

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