MBS under threat of assassination over Israel deal, he tells US lawmakers - report
Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler said a normalization deal without a path for a Palestinian state disregards 'the most pressing issue of justice in our region'
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bi Salman has been mentioning to US lawmakers that he is under threat of assassination over potential normalization with Israel, according to a report Wednesday in Politico.
Also known by the acronym MBS, the de-facto Saudi ruler alluded to the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981 after he made peace with Israel. Any normalization, MBS said, must also include a “true path to a Palestinian state.”
“The way he put it was, ‘Saudis care very deeply about this, and the street throughout the Middle East cares deeply about this, and my tenure as the keeper of the holy sites of Islam will not be secure if I don’t address what is the most pressing issue of justice in our region,'” a source quoted in the report said.
The normalization with Israel would come as part of a secret, still developing pact with the US that includes a civilian nuclear program, technological investment, and security guarantees. In addition, Saudi Arabia would reduce its dealings with China.