Saudi Arabia accused Israel on Wednesday of committing “continuous genocidal massacres” against Palestinians, casting the Biden administration’s efforts to broker a “normalization” deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia in doubt.
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry — which has taken a tougher line toward Israel than Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) — accused Israel of deliberately targeting the tents of Palestinians in Gaza.
The statement appeared to be referring to Sunday night’s airstrike in Rafah, in which Israel eliminated two senior Hamas terrorists, but in which dozens of civilians at a nearby camp were killed.
An Israeli investigation found that Hamas munitions, which may have been hit by shrapnel from the airstrike, likely caused fires. Israel ruled out any deliberate targeting of civilians, in tents or otherwise, in an attack that was expected to be limited in impact.
The Biden administration has been trying to urge Israel to accept an end to the war in Gaza, and a Palestinian state, dangling the prospect of “normalization” with Saudi Arabia. However, Israel is unlikely to accept normalization at the price of self-defense. Israelis are opposed to a Palestinian state due to repeated terror attacks by Hamas from Gaza, which Palestinians controlled entirely after the Israeli “disengagement” of 2005.
A “normalization” deal was said to be close last year prior to the October 7 terror attacks, but was reportedly delayed by the Biden administration’s insistence — over and above any demand by the Saudis — that a Palestinian state be included as part of the deal.
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