King Salman bin Abdulaziz may be the Saudi Arabian sovereign on paper, but savvy Middle East watchers overwhelmingly agree that the real power rests in the arms of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, popularly known simply as MBS.
And as many news hawks are already aware, the prince has recently ordered the arrests of dozens of Saudi princes, senior military officers, and businessmen on corruption charges. Among the most notable of such would be Saudi multi-billionaire and playboy, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
Alwaleed is also seen as one of the loudest of the anti-Trump voices in the House of Saud. Whether that has anything to do with the openly pro-Trump Crown Prince’s clamp-down on radicals has yet to be made public.
Seen as a sudden and to be perfectly honest, a massive shift in the political, cultural, and religious landscape of possibly the entire Muslim World, the Crown Prince is making an obvious power grab. But in a rare change of pace, MBS’s coup isn’t the usual shift to the extreme, but rather to the moderation of Islam as well as against radical Islamic terrorism emanating from within the Saudi government itself.
Yet what’s missing from the headlines is the role Israel may be playing not-so behind the scenes.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post, the Crown Prince made a secret visit to the Jewish State two months ago;
The times are changing in the Middle East as alien nations find common ground in a bid to avert Iran supremacy within the region. Thrown into the mix is the strong international desire for the ousting of Syrian leader Assad. The opening of the dialogue between Israel and Saudi Arabia is perhaps the most significant shift in the region. There have been no diplomatic ties between the two nations, with Saudi Arabia has been a supporter of Palestinian sovereign rights.
A more open relationship has not come overnight, however, with the two nations having shared intelligence on enemies within the region, including Iran. Both nations hold a common view on Iran and its rise to power within the region. Both Israel and Saudi Arabia have a common ally in the U.S and the acting president also shares a similar view on Iran. In recent years, there has been plenty of reports about Israeli-Saudi relations.
One particular article claimed that the Saudis had run tests on bringing down air defense systems to provide the Israeli Air Force a path of least resistance to Iran.
Just this summer, former Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said that Sunni Arab countries and Israel face the same threat of a nuclear Iran.
News of a secret visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Israel in September suggests that the need for stronger ties is ever increasing. Adding to the media frenzy over the possible opening of diplomatic relations between the two nations was news of Kushner visiting both countries last month. Kushner is Trump’s chief Middle East adviser. The U.S administration is keen to see Israeli-Palestinian talks resume and for relations between Israel and Arab nations to improve.
I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2017
….Some of those they are harshly treating have been “milking” their country for years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2017
Maria Bartiromo’s stunning interview with crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
