Saudi media’s increasingly anti-Israel rhetoric raises questions about future normalization

The language surfaced as Riyadh joined seven other Muslim-majority countries, among them the United Arab Emirates, in criticizing what they called Israel’s alleged violations of a Gaza ceasefire.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A visible hardening of rhetoric in Saudi state-aligned newspapers and sermons is casting doubt on how quickly relations with Israel could move toward normalization, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

In recent weeks, Saudi editorials have accused Israel of breaching international law, expanding settlements, and carrying out repeated arrests and raids in the Palestinian territories.

One commentary asserted that Israeli presence brings “ruin and destruction,” while another argued that daily realities on the ground have “systematically eroded trust in diplomacy.”

The shift has also appeared in religious discourse. Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid, speaking at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, prayed during a sermon, “Oh God, deal with the Jews who have seized and occupied, for they cannot escape your power.”

The language surfaced as Riyadh joined seven other Muslim-majority countries, among them the United Arab Emirates, in criticizing what they called Israel’s alleged violations of a Gaza ceasefire.

The war that followed Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack halted US-brokered discussions that had been described as a pathway for Saudi Arabia to enter the Abraham Accords.

The Anti-Defamation League warned that the tone in Saudi media and religious messaging risked spreading antisemitic sentiment and undermining prospects for coexistence.

“ADL is alarmed by the increasing frequency and volume of prominent Saudi voices … using openly antisemitic dog whistles and aggressively pushing anti-Abraham Accords rhetoric,” the organization said.

According to analysts cited by The Wall Street Journal, the sharper criticism also intersects with tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Some Saudi columnists have linked their attacks on Israel to criticism of Abu Dhabi’s ties with the Jewish state, with one writer describing the UAE as “the Israeli Trojan horse in the Arab world.”

Israeli officials told the Journal that Riyadh’s diplomatic posture has changed since the Gaza conflict began.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was monitoring the situation, stating, “We expect from anybody who wants normalization or peace with us that they not participate in efforts directed by forces or ideologies that want the opposite of peace.”

At the same time, Saudi defense officials met US counterparts in Washington to discuss overlapping regional interests.

Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who attended the meeting, said Saudi representatives recognized that the rhetoric was creating problems in Washington and conveyed a readiness to reduce tensions with Israel.