Saudi Arabia’s State Media Launches Scathing Campaign Against Benjamin Netanyahu, Reflecting Growing Frustration at the Royal Court
Saudi Arabia’s state media has launched an unprecedented campaign against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a move that reflects the growing frustration at the royal court over the Israeli leader and the war in the Gaza Strip.
The unusual media drumbeat, which could only be published with the approval of the authorities, began after US and Israeli officials hinted at the possibility of normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, although Riyadh insists that this would depend on the establishment of a Palestinian state. The trigger was a statement by Netanyahu in an interview last week about the establishment of a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia.
“In Saudi Arabia, they can establish a Palestinian state; they have large areas there” Netanyahu told the Israeli Channel 14. On Saudi Arabia’s public statements, saying a Palestinian state is a precondition for normalizing relations with Israel, Netanyahu said he would “not sign an agreement that would put the State of Israel in danger.”
In a report by the state news channel Al Ekhbariya, Netanyahu was pointedly described as “a Zionist and the son of a Zionist . who has inherited extremism in his genes.” The report further stated, “The occupation has neither a good nor a bad face. It has only one face and that is Benjamin Netanyahu.”
The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya channel broadcast a talk show in which the moderator posed questions about Netanyahu’s mental state. “Perhaps it was a case of hallucination?” the moderator asked. A columnist for the daily Okaz newspaper described Netanyahu’s statements as “foolish and laughable.”
Before the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Saudi Arabia was close to a three-way agreement with the Biden administration. In return, the kingdom would have received a defense pact with the US and support for its nuclear program.
The debate over the fate of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip was heated up by Donald Trump’s shocking proposal on Tuesday, in which the US would “take over” the Gaza Strip from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after the relocation of Palestinians.
Despite the global condemnation of Trump’s claims, the Israeli army was instructed on Thursday to prepare plans for the relocation of a large number of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip over land, air and sea routes.