Saudi Arabia on Wednesday accused Israel of committing “ongoing genocide” against Palestinians and cast doubt on the Biden administration’s efforts to broker a “normalization” deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry said it had taken a tougher stance against Israel than Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), accusing Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian tents in the Gaza Strip.
#statement | Saudi Arabia condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the genocide that is continuing to be perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people without deterrence by continuing to target the tents of defenseless Palestinian refugees in Rafah. pic.twitter.com/p7AsUAwRQ9
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@KSAmofaEN) May 28, 2024
The statement appeared to be a reference to Sunday night’s airstrike in Rafah in which Israel took out two senior Hamas terrorists but killed dozens of civilians in a nearby camp.
An Israeli investigation found that the fire was likely started by Hamas munitions, possibly hit by shrapnel from an airstrike. Israel has denied deliberately targeting civilians living in tents or elsewhere in an attack that was expected to have limited impact.
The Biden administration is pressing Israel to accept an end to the war in Gaza and the establishment of a Palestinian state, dangling the possibility of “normalization” with Saudi Arabia. However, Israel is unlikely to accept normalization at the expense of its own defense. Israel opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state because Hamas has repeatedly carried out terrorist attacks from Gaza, which is fully controlled by Palestinians, since Israel’s “withdrawal” in 2005.
A “normalization” agreement was said to be close before the terrorist attacks of October 7 last year, but was reportedly delayed due to the Biden administration’s insistence that a Palestinian state be included in the agreement beyond the Saudi demands.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of his recently published e-book,The Zionist Conspiracy (And How to Join It)” is available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Not Free or Fair: The 2020 US Presidential ElectionHe is the recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship in 2018. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
