Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accused Israel of committing “collective genocide” in the Gaza Strip, one of his harshest comments against Israel since the conflict began last year.
CNN reports this.
During a summit of Islamic countries hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, Prince Mohammed expressed strong condemnation of Israel’s actions.
“The Kingdom reiterates its categorical rejection of the collective genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people,” he stated.
Mohammed bin Salman also expressed his support for Iran, in stark contrast to his previous statements in 2017, when he called Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “the second Hitler.” He called on the international community to force Israel to respect Iran’s sovereignty and refrain from attacking Iranian territories.
Saudi Arabia recently announced a more proactive political approach aimed at supporting the Palestinians. Last year, the country actively discussed the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel, but now maintains that such negotiations are impossible without resolving the question of Palestinian statehood, which was rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref arrived in Riyadh for the meeting and in his speech expressed his condolences for the deaths of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah and Ismail Haniyeh. However, Saudi Arabia strongly opposes Iranian-backed groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
Since the restoration of diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tehran last year, the decades-long hostility between the two countries has begun to subside. Also participating in the meeting were Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who are also attending the summit, remain embroiled in regional conflicts over Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria and support for rebel groups.
The goal of the meeting, organizers stated, was to unite positions and pressure the international community to take action to stop the attacks and establish sustainable peace in the region.
Recall that Cursor wrote that Hamas confirmed today (Tuesday) that the commander of its terrorist cell in Tulkarem, Tarek Ranem Zidan, died “as a result of a mysterious explosion.” According to the organization, Zidane was injured on Saturday night and soon died from his injuries.
