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The British newspaper “Financial Times” said that Al-Faisal’s remarks during a conference in the Bahraini capital Manama contradicted expectations that emerged in recent weeks about a Saudi decision to normalize normalization with the Israeli entity.
The newspaper added that the reprehensible statements made by Al-Faisal, the former Saudi intelligence director and former Kingdom ambassador to London and Washington, came after the kingdom’s embarrassment over leaks about the meeting of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the city of “Neom” in the presence of the Foreign Minister. American Mike Pompeo.
He indicated that Al-Faisal’s harsh statements indicate tension within the kingdom on the road to normalization with Tel Aviv.
Al-Faisal’s harsh remarks came during his participation in a seminar with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, in which he said that “Israel is the last Western colonial power in the Middle East.”
The newspaper added that Al-Faisal’s position came after two weeks of shame for the kingdom after publishing news about the bin Salman – Netanyahu – Pompeo meeting, which caused further tension in the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia denied the news, while Israeli officials described the meeting as surprising, especially as they treat normalization with Saudi Arabia as the grand prize.
And the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, expressed his regret for the statements of the former Saudi official. “I don’t think it reflects the spirit and the changes that are taking place in the Middle East,” he said.
Speaking via video link, Ashkenazi was the first Israeli official to speak at the Manama Dialogue, the annual conference on security.
His participation came after Bahrain normalized its relations with the Israeli entity, after the United Arab Emirates announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
There was speculation about a similar Saudi decision, especially since the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are close allies of Saudi Arabia with the Gulf states.
King Salman is opposed to any move towards normalization, and his son Muhammad, the queen’s de facto ruler, is not against it.
Weeks after the signing of the agreements with the Gulf states, the Israeli occupation government approved the construction of 5,000 settlement units in Israeli settlements, which the international community considers illegal.
When asked, Prince Turki said that “his comments do not reflect differences of opinion within the kingdom.” Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, told the conference that Riyadh was “open to full normalization with Israel” and “for this to happen, and for it to always be so, we need the Palestinians to have their status and resolve the situation. “
