As the war between Israel and Hamas drags on, Saudi Arabia is intensifying arrests of citizens for social media posts criticizing Israel or expressing pro-Palestinian views, according to Bloomberg.

EXCLUSIVE: #SaudiArabia has stepped up arrest of citizens & residents for social media posts deemed problematic by security services. The focus has been on those about #Israel & #Gaza war as Arab rulers worry about national security threats post Oct 7 https://t.co/mabqJERPBY

— Sam Dagher (@samdagher) May 2, 2024

The report says the wave of detentions signals Riyadh's eagerness to pursue diplomatic ties with Israel – provided it commits to Palestinian statehood – and its determination to quash any dissent that could derail normalization efforts. However, the crackdown underscores Saudi Arabia's broader restrictions on free speech and political expression. Riyadh-based diplomats and human rights groups state that the latest series of arrests is driven by security concerns distinctly connected to the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas invasion of Israel and the events that unfolded in its wake, to prevent online rhetoric that could impact national security.

The arrests have targeted individuals whose online comments about the Gaza war were deemed incendiary by authorities, even if the posts were over a decade old. Those detained, Bloomberg says, include an executive involved in the kingdom's Vision 2030 economic plan, a media figure who stated Israel should never be forgiven, and someone calling for a boycott of American fast food chains.

Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned Israel's military actions in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire. However, the kingdom has also signaled a willingness to pursue warmer relations with Israel. The arrest of Saudi citizens for posts related to Gaza suggests that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's government will crack down on dissenting voices that do not align with the official stance on normalizing ties with Israel –  an initiative Saudi Arabia had been pursuing in coordination with the United States prior to the events of Oct. 7, which appear to have thrown a wrench into those plans.

The post Report: Saudi Arabia cracks down on anti-Israel voices; Vision 2030 executive arrested appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

It has sparked concern among several prominent branches of the ruling Al Saud family, which numbers around 10,000 members, about the crown prince's ability to defend and lead the world's largest oil exporter, according to a senior foreign diplomat and five sources with ties to the royals and business elite. All spoke on condition of anonymity.

 Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The attack has also fanned discontent among some in elite circles who believe the crown prince, known as MbS, has sought too tight a grip on power, the sources said. Some of these people said the event has also fueled criticism among those who believe he has pursued an overly aggressive stance toward Iran.

"There is a lot of resentment" about the crown prince's leadership, said one of the sources, a member of the Saudi elite with royal connections. "How were they not able to detect the attack?"

This person added that some people in elite circles are saying they have "no confidence" in the crown prince, an assertion echoed by the four other sources and the senior diplomat.

The crown prince nonetheless has staunch supporters. A Saudi source within circles loyal to the crown prince said: "The latest events won't affect him personally as a potential ruler because he is trying to stop the Iranian expansion in the region. This is a patriotic issue, and so he won't be in danger, at least as long as the father lives."

A second senior foreign diplomat said ordinary Saudis still want to unite behind MbS as a strong, decisive, dynamic leader.

The Saudi government media office did not respond to questions.

The crown prince, during a television interview aired Sunday by CBS, said that defending Saudi Arabia was difficult because of the kingdom's large size and the scale of threats it faces. "It's challenging to cover all of this fully," he said. He also called for "strong and firm" global action to deter Iran but said he preferred a "peaceful solution" to a military one.

Fueling resentment

At stake is political stability in the world's largest oil exporter, a key ally of the United States in the Middle East. The crown prince is officially next in line to the throne to his 83-year-old father, King Salman, and is the de facto ruler of the country. He has vowed to transform the kingdom into a modern state.

The 34-year-old crown prince, who is popular among young Saudis, has received praise at home for easing social restrictions in the conservative Muslim kingdom, granting women more rights and pledging to diversify Saudi Arabia's oil-dependent economy. But state control of the media and a crackdown on dissent in the kingdom make it difficult to gauge levels of genuine enthusiasm domestically.

The September 14 attack set ablaze two of state oil giant Saudi Aramco's plants, initially knocking out half of the kingdom's oil production – 5% of global oil output. Saudi Arabia has said Iran was responsible, an assessment that US officials share. Iranian officials have denied involvement.

"The magnitude of these attacks is not lost on the population, nor is the fact that he [the crown prince] is the minister of defense and his brother is deputy defense minister, and yet arguably the country has suffered its largest attack ever and on the crown jewels," said Neil Quilliam, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, a London-based international affairs think tank.

"There's a diminishing confidence in his ability to secure the country – and that's a consequence of his policies," said Quilliam, a specialist on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. MbS oversees foreign, security and defense policy.

The attack has fueled resentment that has simmered since the crown prince came to power two years ago, sweeping aside rivals to the throne and arresting hundreds of the kingdom's most prominent figures on corruption allegations.

MbS has seen his reputation overseas suffer from a costly war in Yemen against the Iran-aligned Houthi group that has killed tens of thousands of people and triggered a humanitarian crisis. He also came under international criticism over the murder a year ago of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, which the US Central Intelligence Agency has said the crown prince ordered.

The crown prince, during the CBS interview, denied ordering the killing of Khashoggi but said he ultimately bears "full responsibility" as the kingdom's de facto leader.

Khashoggi was murdered by agents of the Saudi government without authorization or permission, said Saudi Arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, during a moderated discussion hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York on September 24.

The post In Saudi Arabia, criticism of crown prince grows after attack appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The visit comes the same week two US senators met with the crown prince in the first such visit by members of Congress in more than a year. The prince continues to face fierce bipartisan criticism in the US over the murder of Saudi critic and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey last year, despite denials by the kingdom that he had any involvement.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Prince Mohammed's meeting with prominent Christian figures marks only the second such visit by American evangelicals to the kingdom, which is trying to shake off its reputation for religious intolerance and human rights abuses.

For the crown prince and other Arab leaders, meetings such as this offer an opportunity to strengthen ties with the Trump administration through his evangelical base of supporters.

For the evangelical visitors, it is an opportunity for interreligious dialogue and to push for greater Arab support for Israel.

Many US evangelicals support Israel as a core part of their faith. Most believe that before Jesus can return and rule, Jews must return to the Holy Land and rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

The Saudi government published photos of the meeting, which was attended by prominent American Christian Zionist leaders, including dual US-Israeli national Joel Rosenberg.

The nine-person delegation also included the Rev. Johnnie Moore, a co-chairman of President Donald Trump's Evangelical Advisory Council; Larry Ross, a former longtime spokesman for one of America's most well-known evangelicals Billy Graham; and Pastor Skip Heitzig, whose Calvary Albuquerque church in New Mexico has over 15,000 congregants.

A brief statement issued by the Saudi Embassy in Washington said the two sides discussed promoting coexistence and combating extremism.

In an email response to The Associated Press, Rosenberg said that each person in the delegation traveled to Saudi Arabia in an individual capacity and the group had meetings with a range of officials on Monday and Tuesday, with plans for more meetings on Wednesday. Traveling by motorcade, they had meetings with US Ambassador John Abizaid, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Yemen, and flew to the ancient Saudi site of Al-Ula for a tour.

Tuesday's meeting at the royal palace in Jiddah also included Saudi Ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar, Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir, and head of the Muslim World League Sheikh Mohammed al-Issa.

The delegation, led by Rosenberg, said in a statement its members were grateful to have deepening relationships in Saudi Arabia "to talk openly, if sometimes privately, about what we believe must change in the kingdom even as we celebrate the kingdom's progress in so many other areas."

They said they were "stunned to learn" only two US senators had visited Saudi Arabia this year, describing the kingdom as one of America's "most important strategic allies" and urged more senators to visit and ask the crown prince candid questions "rather than sniping at him from Washington."

Sen. Angus King (I-Me.) and Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) met with Prince Mohammed on Sunday in Saudi Arabia. King said that the visit was aimed at doing a lot of listening and getting some answers from the crown prince.

"Both by his demeanor and his language, he knows that he has a problem and he gave us reassurances that the people responsible for the death of Khashoggi are going to be brought to justice," said King, who sits on the committees on intelligence and the military.

He said that Prince Mohammed is also aware of the problem of civilian deaths in the war in Yemen, now in its fifth year.

"Words are important, but I'm interested in seeing actions and we'll see whether they follow through," King said.

The post Saudi crown prince meets US Christian Zionist leaders in Jiddah appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.