Saudi-Israel normalisation is dead — for now |
Saudi Arabia's approach to the Palestinian issue has long been shaped by King Faisal's vision. In 1967, when Israel attacked and defeated Egypt, Jordan and Syria; captured Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem; and brought one million Palestinians under its control, King Faisal made East Jerusalem and Palestine the centerpiece of his diplomacy.
The 1973 Arab-Israel war further underscored his strategic acumen. As a shaken Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir pleaded with Washington for arms, US President Richard Nixon's Operation Nickel Grass eventually saved Israel. But Faisal's oil embargo — placed on Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's request — dealt a crippling blow to the American economy.
Commending Faisal's religious conviction and foresight, former US presidential adviser Bruce Riedel noted the King soon realised that Nixon aimed to lift military pressure on Israel from Egypt, allowing it to consolidate its hold on East Jerusalem. "As it has now for five decades. Faisal was right."
King Faisal's assassination in 1975 marked the loss of a leader who confronted Zionist expansionism and Western imperialism; it silenced one of Islam's most unifying voices. By 1977, Sadat was addressing the Knesset on peace and soon Egypt would become the first Arab country to normalise ties with Tel Aviv — fracturing regional consensus on Palestine.
Even so, Prince Salman (now King) sustained the mission Faisal entrusted in 1969, mobilising public support for Palestine. In 2002, he countered Zionist slogan "A dollar you........