Tuesday, November 12, 2024 - Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman has accused Israel of carrying out “collective genocide” in Gaza, in some of his strongest criticism of the country since the Israel-Gaza war began last year.
During a gathering of leaders of Islamic nations hosted by
Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Monday, November 11, the country’s de facto leader
said:
“The Kingdom reiterates its
condemnation and absolute refusal of the collective genocide committed by
Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people.”
The crown prince, widely known by his initials MBS, also
defended Iran, in stark contrast to his comments in 2017 comparing the Iranian
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Adolf Hitler.
MBS urged the international community to “compel Israel to
respect Iran’s sovereignty and not to attack (Iranian) territories.”
Last year Saudi Arabia was in the process of negotiating a
historic normalization agreement with Israel but recently said that was “off
the table” without Palestinian statehood, a demand rejected by Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Iran sent its First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref to the
Riyadh conference, who in his speech mourned the deaths of Hezbollah
Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya
Sinwar. Saudi Arabia strongly opposes Iran-backed militias such as Hezbollah
and Hamas.
Riyadh and Tehran repaired ties last year after decades of
animosity over regional influence.
Those attending the high-level meeting included Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati,
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Presidents
Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
The stated goal of Monday’s meeting was “unifying positions”
and “exerting pressure” on the international community to take steps to end the
“ongoing attacks and establish lasting peace,” in the region, Saudi’s
governmental state agency said.
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