Patrick Wintour 
Diplomatic editor
Wed 11 Oct 2023 15.35 EDT

Saudi Arabia also played a large part in the joint EU-Gulf Cooperation Council that called for a two-state solution. Riyadh is understood to be unimpressed by the US decision to send an aircraft carrier to the region.

In a sign that Saudi is not going to abandon the Palestinian cause, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has already called the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, to emphasise that the Gulf kingdom is “making every possible effort to engage with all international and regional parties to halt the ongoing escalation and prevent its further spread in the region”, stressing the importance of sparing the lives of civilians.

The crown prince also reiterated the kingdom’s unrelenting support for the Palestinian people “in their pursuit of their legitimate rights”, without mentioning the creation of a Palestinian state.

Although Saudi Arabia is an autocratic state that does not tolerate criticism of the royal family, its diplomats are alert to Arab public opinion – one reason why it has not yet been willing to join the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan in normalising relations with Israel.
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