WSJ: Saudi Media Turns Against Israel

Saudi Arabia's state-backed media has adopted an unusually confrontational tone toward Israel in recent weeks, reflecting deepening regional tensions and fading prospects for diplomatic normalization between Riyadh and Jerusalem, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

State-linked outlets such as Al Riyadh have published editorials sharply critical of Israel's conduct in the Gaza war, accusing the Israeli government of flouting international law and bringing "ruin and destruction" wherever it operates — language far harsher than the kingdom's traditionally cautious public messaging.

Religious leaders have echoed the bellicose rhetoric.

In December, Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid, an imam at Islam's holiest site, invoked divine retribution against Jews for "seizing and occupying," comments that have alarmed observers in the West.

Saudi officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have told foreign diplomats the shift reflects mounting domestic anger over the conflict in Gaza.

However, scholars and diplomats say the media campaign points to more complex geopolitics: a growing rivalry with the United Arab Emirates, a close partner of Israel under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords.

Saudi columnists have portrayed Abu Dhabi's ties with Israel as a betrayal of Arab interests, at times dismissively labeling the UAE an "Israeli Trojan horse" in the region.

"The impostor from Abu Dhabi believes that the shortest path to avenging past grudges and healing the state of jealousy and feelings of inferiority toward the Kingdom is by throwing oneself into the arms of Zionism and accepting that the Emirates become the Israeli Trojan horse in the Arab world," Saudi columnist Ahmed bin Othman Al-Tuwaijri wrote last month in an editorial for the Saudi newspaper Al Jazirah.

The shift has complicated Riyadh's standing in Washington. The Anti-Defamation League has warned that disparaging rhetoric in Saudi media risks crossing into antisemitism and could undermine efforts to build a coalition of moderate Arab states.

Former U.S. officials have publicly questioned whether Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman remains committed to moderation and engagement with Israel.

Saudi diplomats have pushed back, insisting the kingdom rejects antisemitism and remains open to normalization with Israel provided future talks include a credible path to Palestinian statehood — a condition Israel's government has resisted amid domestic opposition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in late January that Jerusalem was monitoring the Saudi media shift, warning that a supportive regional environment is essential for any normalization agreement.

Analysts say normalization now appears more distant, with Riyadh prioritizing competition with the UAE and other regional partnerships over forging ties with Israel.

Before the recent escalation, Saudi Arabia was widely seen as the potential linchpin of a broader Arab-Israeli diplomatic realignment.

Washington and Riyadh reportedly made significant progress toward a framework that would link Saudi diplomatic recognition of Israel to security guarantees for the Palestinians and U.S. backing — a plan that had drawn cautious optimism from American and Israeli officials.

However, the war in Gaza following Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack in 2023 has hardened public and elite attitudes across the Middle East.

Saudi commentators have increasingly rejected normalization absent meaningful progress on Palestinian statehood, a position echoed by key figures in the kingdom's foreign policy establishment.

The media's harsher tone comes amid broader shifts in Saudi foreign policy, including strengthening ties with traditional Israeli adversaries such as Pakistan and Turkey.

Some experts suggest the feud with the UAE and the recalibration of regional priorities could lead Riyadh to cool its previously active pursuit of normalization, at least for the near term.

For now, analysts say a thaw between Saudi Arabia and the UAE may be more achievable than a breakthrough with Israel, as long-standing geopolitical rivalries and domestic pressures reshape Gulf diplomacy.