Saudi crown prince accuses Israel of committing ‘collective genocide’ in Gaza

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has accused Israel of carrying out “collective genocide” in Gaza, in some of his strongest criticism of the country since the war began last year.

During a gathering of leaders of Islamic nations hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Monday, the country’s de facto leader said: “The Kingdom reiterates its condemnation and absolute refusal of the collective genocide committed by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people.”

The crown prince, widely known by his initials MBS, also defended Iran, in stark contrast to his comments in 2017 comparing the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Adolf Hitler.

MBS urged the international community to “compel Israel to respect Iran’s sovereignty and not to attack (Iranian) territories.”

Saudi Arabia has recently signaled more political involvement and policy shifts in support of the Palestinians.

Last year the kingdom was in the process of negotiating a historic normalization agreement with Israel but recently said that was “off the table” without Palestinian statehood, a demand rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran sent its First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref to the Riyadh conference, who in his speech mourned the deaths of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar. Saudi Arabia strongly opposes Iran-backed militias such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

Riyadh and Tehran repaired ties last year after decades of animosity over regional influence.

Those attending the high-level meeting included Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who were also at the meeting, remain embroiled in an ongoing conflict over Turkey’s military operations in northern Syria and its support for rebel groups.

The stated goal of Monday’s meeting was “unifying positions” and “exerting pressure” on the international community to take steps to end the “ongoing attacks and establish lasting peace,” in the region, Saudi’s governmental state agency said.