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Saudi Arabia appears to back Netanyahu arrest warrant, rips call for Temple Mount synagogue

Riyadh takes aim at Israeli leaders in statement condemning war against Hamas and calls to permit Jewish prayer on Temple Mount, urging international community to target Israeli officials for ‘violations of international law.’

By World Israel News Staff

The Saudi foreign ministry appeared to endorse the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a scathing statement released by Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry Tuesday, Riyadh took aim at Israeli government officials over the ongoing war in Gaza, and over calls to change the status quo on the Temple Mount.

Referring to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) as a “minister in the Israeli occupation government,” the Saudi foreign ministry excoriated him over comments Monday during an interview with Galei Tzahal radio Monday, in which Ben-Gvir said that he would back construction of a synagogue on the Temple Mount were he to head the government.

“If I could do anything I wanted, I would put an Israeli flag on the site,” he said.

Riyadh condemned Ben-Gvir’s comments as “extremist and inflammatory,” warning they would arouse ire of Muslims worldwide.

“The kingdom affirms its categorical rejection of these extremist and inflammatory statements and its rejection of the continuous provocations of the feelings of Muslims around the world.”

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The Saudi foreign ministry also appeared to take aim at Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over their criminal indictments from the ICC, calling for Israeli leaders to be held “accountable” for alleged violations of international law.

“The kingdom stresses the need to respect the historical and legal status quo of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, renewing its call to the international community to fulfill its responsibilities in putting an end to the humanitarian disaster that the brotherly Palestinian people are enduring and to initiate serious mechanisms to hold Israeli officials accountable for the ongoing violations of international laws, norms, and resolutions.”

In recent years, the Saudi government, under the de facto rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has quietly conducted talks with the United States aimed at normalizing ties with Israel, as part of a bid to strengthen ties with the U.S. and to bolster the anti-Iran coalition in the Middle East.

Publicly, however, Riyadh has insisted that Israel back the formation of a Palestinian state, despite the Israeli government’s repeated vows not to support Palestinian statehood.

The Saudi government has also publicly issued scathing condemnations of Israel, accusing Israel in May of “continuous genocidal massacres” of Gazans in the city of Rafah.