In a closed conversation with the American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said what we have been writing for years: the Arab governments don’t care about the Palestinians at all.

And when did he say that? On the same day that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was sent several floors lower than his underground bunker, to hell by Israeli fighter jets in Beirut. Israel’s latest strikes against the Iranian axis of evil in the Middle East are bringing new winds of change to the Middle East. This is encouraging the Sunni governments and giving the Saudi kingdom new hope for normalization with Israel, which had been put on the “back burner“ in recent years.

The Saudi Crown Prince has stated in a private conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that he personally “does not care about the Palestinian issue.” In an extensive article by Atlantic magazine on US efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, it was said that while the young Crown Prince was concerned about public opinion in his kingdom regarding the possibility of normalization, he was still clearly interested in it. In addition, Prince Salman said that he had no objection to Israel continuing to conduct anti-terror operations in the Gaza Strip after the signing of a normalization agreement. Normalization was only realistic under a US administration led by Democrats.

During one of the two meetings, Blinken asked bin Salman if he could accept a situation in which the Israeli army regularly entered the Gaza Strip to fight terrorism after a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. Salman replied: “They can come every six months or a year, but not immediately after I sign something like that.” The 38-year-old crown prince said he feared public criticism in his country: “Seventy percent of my population is younger than me. Many of them have never heard much about the Palestinian issue. Is the Palestinian issue important to me personally? No, but it is important to my people; so I have to make sure it is important.” An official from the kingdom denied these comments.

Saudi crown prince said he personally ‘doesn’t care’ about Palestinian issue

Mohammed bin Salman reportedly told Antony Blinken that while he was not concerned about ‘the Palestinian issue’, the young Saudi population were https://t.co/hr4siYUrar

— JustMe (@Follow_5unnah) September 29, 2024

On August 14, Politico reported that bin Salman told U.S. congressmen that he wanted to push for normalization with Israel but feared his own people would kill him. He was referring to former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated by members of the Muslim Brotherhood after signing a peace agreement with Israel.

The comments came at a meeting between the two in the Saudi Arabian city of Al-Ula in January. At the meeting, bin Salman told Blinken that he believes the Biden administration is the best chance to advance normalization with Israel. Such a move is only possible under a USA Democratic administration, with the approval of progressives in Congress, who would give their consent in return for progress in the political process between Israel and the Palestinians.

A Saudi official called this portrayal of the conversation “false.” At least publicly, the crown prince has said that Saudi Arabia will not normalize its relations with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. But he must do so to avoid getting himself into more trouble just by extending a hand to Israel. “The kingdom will not give up its efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he said recently in his annual speech to the Shura Council in Riyadh. That means nothing, because he only wants to appease the Palestinian leadership.

#BREAKING; ⚠️🇸🇦🇮🇱#Saudi Arabia will not pursue relations with #Israel until the establishment of a sovereign #Palestinian state, declared Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, the leader of the Muslim world. pic.twitter.com/MAI7uuLOlH

— Global Watch (@Global_Watch24) September 29, 2024

If normalization with Saudi Arabia does occur, which is quite possible, the Palestinian problem will disappear from the media again. Of course, there are constant warnings that dissatisfied Palestinians will always resort to terrorist activities, which is true; but this time there will be no Hamas in the Gaza Strip and probably no Hezbollah in Lebanon. This allows Israel to continue the political formula that Israel must first make peace with the Arab countries around it in order to persuade the Palestinians to make an agreement – and not the other way around. This began years ago with the signing of the so-called Abraham Accords, which was a really good move by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But the President at that time was Donald Trump, who had fully supported this idea. Only a few have the courage, like the Saudi Crown Prince, to say out loud what they think of the Palestinians. The Hashemite King of Jordan and the Egyptian President also do not care about the Palestinians, although in both cases the Palestinian problem affects both countries more than Saudi Arabia. New winds are blowing.