Saudi Arabia: Ties with Israel conditional on peace with Palestinians

Saudi Arabia, most powerful Arab nation and home to Islam's holiest sites, has me its official position on region's longest-running conflict clear: full ties between kingdom and Israel can only happen when peace is reached with Palestinians.

Yet state-backed Saudi media and clerics are signaling change is alrey underway with Israel — something that can only happen under directives of country's powerful heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

divergent messs on possibility of Saudi ties with Israel reflect what analysts and insiders say is a schism between how 35-year-old prince and his 84-year-old far, King Salman view national interests.

But prominent Saudi royal, Prince Turki al-Faisal, insists "any talk of a rift between king and crown prince is mere speculation."

"We've seen ne of that," said prince, who served for years as he of intelligence and briefly as ambassor to U.S.

Gulf capitals have been increasingly looking to Israel as an ally to defend against common rival Iran amid quiet concerns about direction of U.S. foreign policy and uncertainty around upcoming presidential election.

Analysts and observers say Saudi Arabia is unlikely to formalize ties with Israel as long as King Salman wields power.

While king has handed off day-to-day control of Saudi affairs to his son, he has stepped in on occasion to intervene and even push back with statements in support of Palestinians.

In a phone call with President Donald Trump on September 6, King Salman repeated his commitment to Arab Peace Initiative, according to state-run Saudi Press ncy.

initiative offers Israel rmal ties with Arab states in return for Palestinian statehood on territory Israel captured in 1967 — a deal that starkly contricts Trump ministration's Middle East peace plan.

Still, crown prince has bucked trition with an unprecedented assertiveness.

Prince Mohammed is also er to reset ties with U.S. in aftermath of killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

When White House anunced last month United Arab Emirates and Israel agreed to establish full diplomatic ties — a move matched by Bahrain weeks later — Saudi Arabia refrained from criticizing deal or hosting summits condemning decision, despite Palestinian requests to do so.

Palestinians have slammed agreements as a "betrayal of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian cause," but government-controlled Saudi media hailed m as historic and good for regional peace.

kingdom also approved use of Saudi air for Israeli flights to UAE, a decision anunced day after Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior viser, met with Prince Mohammed in Riyh.

Kushner has been pushing Arab states to rmalize ties with Israel.

Prince Mohammed was quoted in Atlantic during his most recent visit to U.S. in April 2018 saying Israel is a big ecomy and "re are a lot of interests we share with Israel."

He said Palestinians and Israelis have right to ir own land, before ding re has to be a peace agreement to assure stability and to have rmal relations.

His comments were interpreted as support for eventual establishment of full ties between kingdom and Israel, which would annihilate what's left of Arab consensus that recognition of Israel can only come after establishment of a Palestinian state.

Most telling, however, was Sept. 11 anuncement that tiny-island nation of Bahrain was establishing ties with Israel.

Analysts say move could t have happened without Saudi approval.

Prince Turki says Arab states should demand a high price for rmalizing ties with Israel.

He said Israel remains " stumbling block in all of se efforts."

"My view is that if you take a sounding w of Saudi positions on Palestine ... you see more than 90% of population as supporting official position of Saudi Arabia that re must be a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital," Prince Turki told Associated Press.

When UAE-Israel deal was anunced in August, top trending hashtag on Twitter in Saudi Arabia was against rmalization with Israel.

Still, public criticism in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain has largely been muted, in part because se governments suppress free speech.