The Saudi royal has mentioned to members of Congress that he’s putting his life in danger by pursuing a grand bargain with the U.S. and Israel that includes normalizing Saudi-Israeli ties.
On at least one occasion, he has invoked Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian leader slain after striking a peace deal with Israel, asking what the U.S. did to protect Sadat. He also has discussed the threats he faces in explaining why any such deal must include a true path to a Palestinian state — especially now that the war in Gaza has heightened Arab fury toward Israel.
The broad contours of the largely secret and still-developing pact have emerged in various reports, including my own. It includes multiple U.S. commitments to the Saudis, including security guarantees via a treaty, aid on a civilian nuclear program and economic investment in areas such as technology.
According to some reports, in exchange Saudi Arabia would limit its dealings with China. It also would establish diplomatic and other ties with Israel — a huge boon for the Israelis given Saudi Arabia’s importance among Muslim nations.
Saudi Arabia cannot legitimize Israel, but Israel can delegitimize Saudi Arabia.
If Saudi Arabia normalizes with Israel hundreds of millions -if not each and every Muslim of the 2 billion total- will see it as a confirmation and validation of the Hadith that praises Yemen and the Levant but curses Najd.
Link to Hadith plus explanation in Arabic: https://www.islamweb.org/ar/fatwa/134719/
Rough Google Translation:
I personally don’t think the Politico story is true. The risk is too damn high for the House of Saud. They will lose all legitimacy domestically and internationally.
Their legitimacy have always been found in being the absolute sellout to empires and willing enforcers of colonists against their own people though. Anything else is just pandering to the sold out victims so they stop fighting back and make the sub pressor job a little bit easier. Normalize relationships with Israel will absolutely be fine with the Saudi as long as the US want it.
Saudi has a short history of trying to sell out to the west while not getting lynched. It has only existed for 100 years and was gifted by the British to betray the Ottoman Empire.
The recent weapon sales by Biden indicate Saudi hopes to not get lynched while normalizing with Israel.
But if Israel hopes to gain legitimacy from Muslims by appeasing Saud they are in for a rough wake-up call. Even Iran is more popular amongst Sunni Muslims than the House of Saud right now. Muslims have no allegiance to any ruler if their actions are wrong.
The House of Saud has been in rule since 1727. The origin of their rule goes back to 1446. They reestablished their state twice after collapse. Once in 1824 and again in 1902, which eventually became Saudi Arabia in 1932.
You don’t reestablish twice without wide tribal support.
The Saudis ran on a racist “Arabs are the real Muslims” policy against the Ottomans in now Turkey. They were even promised Palestine in exchange for betraying the Ottoman Empire.
You reestablish twice with wide British support. The house of Saud are dogs of the west. Only Faisal had some backbone so they disposed of him.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia–United_Kingdom_relations
If that were true they would have normalized with Israel years ago but they didn’t. Instead they chose to make peace with Iran last year to the public cries of Biden and Israeli leaders.