Saudi Arabia Reluctantly Finds Common Ground With Israel About Iran
By Yaroslav Trofimov
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The Saudis are finding themselves in an unusual and somewhat uncomfortable position of, if not empathizing with Israel, at least relating to it. Years of sectarian carnage in Syria and Iraq have turned public opinion in Saudi Arabia and many other Arab countries solidly against Iran and against its most powerful Arab ally, the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
These days, official government spokesmen in the Saudi capital Riyadh frequently draw a parallel between the pro-Iranian Houthi militia that Saudi Arabia is fighting in Yemen and Hezbollah. They say one Saudi objective in the war is to prevent the Houthis in Yemen from establishing a state-within-a-state like the one Hezbollah has carved out in southern Lebanon. Responding to the Saudi bombing campaign, the Houthis have repeatedly fired cross-border rockets at Saudi towns, just as Hezbollah has done against Israel.
“Wherever the Iranians are present, they create militias against these countries,” said Saudi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed al Aseeri. “In Lebanon they have created Hezbollah, which is blocking the political process and has conducted wars against Israelis, destroying Lebanon as a result. And in Yemen, they have created the Houthis.”
The Houthis, for their part, have accused Saudi Arabia of launching airstrikes against them “on the order of Israel” and claimed that Israeli pilots are flying Saudi jets—allegations routinely reported as fact by Iranian media.
It isn’t just about Yemen. Saudi Arabia—like Israel—is also concerned by Tehran’s pending nuclear deal with the U.S. and five other world powers. Fearing that the agreement, and the accompanying lifting of economic sanctions, would embolden Iran to expand its regional sway, some Saudis even hope—not so secretly—that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would use his country’s air force to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations.
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While Israeli officials are equally eager and say that secret contacts have taken place, this doesn’t mean that a diplomatic breakthrough will happen soon... For now, the two countries don't have diplomatic relations and Israel still technically classifies the kingdom an enemy state. Unlike some other Gulf monarchies, Saudi Arabia hasn't allowed Israeli officials, athletes and other representatives to visit publicly.
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Still, the yearning to build ties with Israel is palpable in the kingdom’s foreign-policy establishment.
“Saudi Arabia would like Israel to be part of the Middle East, as a state in the Middle East. We can’t take it out, and we can use their technology while they can use our money,” said retired Saudi Maj. Gen. Anwar Eshqi, chairman of the Middle East Center for Strategic and Legal Studies in the Saudi city of Jeddah... Israel, he said, was too soft in 2006. That year, responding to a cross-border kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, it launched a massive air and land war against Hezbollah, devastating many Shiite-majority areas of Lebanon. “Israel attacked Hezbollah, but it didn’t finish them,” Mr. Eshqi said. “We have to finish the Houthis.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-reluctantly-finds-common-cause-with-israel-in-suspicions-about-iran-1434627043
