Saudi Crown Prince told US official that he ‘does not care’ about Palestinian issue: report

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he does not care about what happens in Palestine amid talks of normalising ties with Israel, according to The Atlantic.

Journalist and author Franklin Foer noted that a Saudi official described this account of the conversation as “incorrect.”

The US-based magazine published an article on September 25, detailing the diplomatic exchange between the US and Saudi Arabia in the context of the ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The article began with a meeting between Saudi diplomats and US officials on october 6, 2023, discussing a blueprint for a Palestinian state in exchange for normalising relations with Israel.

However, the negotiations ruptured after US officials received reports that “Israel is under attack.”

Since the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel’s military offensive has reduced Gaza to rubble, with over 41,000 killed and more than 95,000 injured.

While Saudi Arabia has repeatedly emphasised that normalisation of ties with Israel is contingent on the establishment of a Palestinian state, ongoing discussions between Riyadh and the White House have sought to finalise such a deal.

During one of these discussions, the Crown Prince met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Saudi Arabia in January 2024.

MBS reportedly told Blinken that the Biden administration “represented his best chance for realising his plans” to secure a US-Saudi defence pact, especially before the potential return of Donald Trump to power after the next presidential election.

“What do you need from Israel?” Blinken asked the Crown Prince.

The 71-year-old ruler responded that he wanted “calm” in Gaza, adding that Israel could continue its military actions at any other time but not “at the back end of my signing something like this (a normalisation deal).”

“Seventy percent of my population is younger than me,” MBS explained to Blinken. “For most of them, they never really knew much about the Palestinian issue. And so they’re being introduced to it for the first time through this conflict. It’s a huge problem.”

“Do I personally care about the Palestinian issue? I don’t, but my people do, so I need to make sure this is meaningful,” he maintained.