Bin Salman Opposes Netanyahu's Plan; Why Won't Saudi Arabia Unite with Israel Against the Houthis?

Haaretz reported Benjamin Netanyahu's effort to secure Saudi Arabia's cooperation in a US-mediated military campaign against Yemen's Houthis; according to informed sources, the effort has met opposition from Mohammed bin Salman. Beyond military cooperation, the aim of Israel's plan is said to be expanding ties with Riyadh and paving the way for normalization of relations.

Ha'aretz newspaper reported on Benjamin Netanyahu's attempt to get Saudi Arabia's support in the military campaign against Yemen's Ansarullah with the mediation of the United States. According to knowledgeable sources, this effort has been met with the opposition of Mohammad bin Salman. Israel's goal of this plan, in addition to military cooperation, is to expand relations with Riyadh and pave the way for the normalization of relations.

Ambassador Arjan-International Group: Haaretz wrote: According to a diplomatic source and another source, the Prime Minister of Israel is trying to convince Saudi Arabia to join the military campaign against Ansarullah with the mediation of the United States. This action is carried out with the aim of expanding relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and advancing the process of normalizing relations between the two countries. According to one of the sources, Mohammad bin Salman vetoed this plan.

This article continues: Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, is trying to convince Saudi Arabia to allow Israel to intervene in the conflict with the Houthis, with the mediation of the United States. This issue has been announced by a diplomatic source.

However, according to the diplomatic source, Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, does not want to receive help from Israel in the military campaign against the Houthis; Because cooperation with Israel will not reflect positively on Saudi public opinion.

This source emphasized that Israel's military intervention in Yemen, due to bin Salman's veto, is a "red line and outside the permissible limits".

In recent months, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly proposed the idea of ​​normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia through Riyadh joining the Ibrahim agreements.

Lindsey Graham, the American senator who was close to Trump and Netanyahu and died suddenly last July, in the last weeks of his life, tried to make the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel the centerpiece of the political order in the Middle East in the "day after" the war with Iran.

According to several reports, the deal with Saudi Arabia - which seemed close to being reached in the fall of 2023 - was one of the reasons that led Netanyahu to be more cautious about confronting Hamas in the weeks before the group's surprise attack on October 7 of that year.

However, Saudi Arabia's official position is that normalization of relations with Israel will only be possible after real progress has been made towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Mohammad bin Salman, in August. The crown prince of Saudi Arabia does not want Israel's help, because cooperation with this country will not reflect positively on the public opinion of the Saudi kingdom.

In early September, the Houthis advanced rapidly along Yemen's western coast and on the shores of the Red Sea. They captured the strategic city of Mokha and several islands in the Red Sea; The achievements that allowed them to take control of the Yemeni part of the Bab al-Mandab Strait. This strait is one of the world's vital sea passages through which 12% of world trade passes.

Since then, the forces of the Yemeni government, which is recognized by the international community, with the support of the intensification of airstrikes by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, began a large-scale operation against the Ansarullah forces in the coastal area of ​​the Red Sea and captured the city of Mokha once again.

In recent days, the Houthis have attacked Saudi Arabia several times, including several attacks on Riyadh International Airport.

As a result of a ballistic missile hitting this airport on Saturday, at least 12 people were killed and 309 people were injured. Yesterday, in the attack on the airport, one person was killed and 11 people were injured.

After Saturday's attack on the airport, Netanyahu released a message expressing sympathy for Saudi Arabia.

"I strongly condemn the horrific terrorist attack on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which claimed the lives of 12 innocent people and injured hundreds more," he wrote on the X social network. "On behalf of the people of Israel, I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish the injured a full recovery."

Netanyahu continued: "Israel is the hope of a powerful Middle East; A Middle East that stands united against threats, defends its people and builds a future based on security, cooperation and prosperity for all the nations of our region."

The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Ansarullah has entered a new phase in recent hours with the escalation of Saudi airstrikes on Taiz province and the response of Yemeni forces. Saudi warplanes bombarded al-Mukha city and Haifan area this morning, according to local sources, 6 civilians, including two children and a woman, were killed and 8 people were injured. At the same time, Ansarullah announced the continuation of attacks against Saudi targets.

With the victory of the democrats aligned with Ben Nayef, the news received from the Saudi court indicates the crown prince's great concern and his diligent effort to overcome this political crisis. In this regard, Bensalman reached out to his friends Jared Kushner, Mike Pompeo, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yossi Cohen, the head of the Mossad, so that he might be able to get rid of the nightmare of Ben Nayef's return to power.

Nine civilians, including five children and a woman, were killed and seven others were injured in airstrikes by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia on Khab and Al-Shaaf city in Yemen's Al-Jawf province.