Saudi crown prince slams Israeli 'genocide' in Gaza
Mohammed bin Salman has condemned Israel’s actions
What happened
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Monday that Israel was committing "genocide" against Palestinians and urged the international community to halt the country's "attacks on the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples." Qatar recently pulled out of stalled U.S.-backed efforts to mediate a cease-fire agreement in Gaza, saying neither Israel nor Hamas was negotiating in good faith.
Who said what
Prince Mohammed's comments, delivered in Riyadh at a joint meeting of the Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation, marked "some of the harshest public criticism" of Israel by a Saudi official since the Gaza war broke out, the BBC said.
Mohammed "could play a major role in any eventual peace deal between Israel and its adversaries in Gaza and Lebanon," The Washington Post said. Both Donald Trump and President Joe Biden strove to achieve "normalization of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel," though the Saudi crown prince has said "he would not accept a normalization deal with Israel unless it agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state," something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Monday he would push for the annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank after Trump takes office.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
The Biden administration will decide this week whether Israel has made enough progress increasing Gazans' access to food and humanitarian aid, a precondition for continued military support. Eight international aid organizations said Monday that Israel had "not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria" but "took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza." Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was sure "that issue will be solved."
-
Local elections 2026: where are they and who is expected to win?The Explainer Labour is braced for heavy losses and U-turn on postponing some council elections hasn’t helped the party’s prospects
-
6 of the world’s most accessible destinationsThe Week Recommends Experience all of Berlin, Singapore and Sydney
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
