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Netanyahu Seeks Saudi Arabia's Approval to Join Fight Against Houthis, but Crown Prince Opposes Move

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Muhammad bin Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud

2026-10-13 - haaretz -

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking Saudi Arabia's approval, through U.S. mediation, for Israel to join the campaign against Yemen's Houthis, a diplomatic source told Haaretz, adding that Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman opposes Israeli military involvement because of the likely backlash among the kingdom's public.

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Past Feature Articles


The Qur'anic Vision of Muhammad bin Salman: Conviction or Politics? Behind the spate of reforms introduced by the crown prince is an influential group of Islamic scholars holding that only the Qur'an is the source of divine law, while much of the literature of 'hadith' is suspect. So far, the younger generation has embraced his reforms, but the change in outlook represents a profound rift with the Kingdom's past.
Spectacle and Ceremony: Honoring Tradition or Managing Expectation? Bursting with pomp and circumstance, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, and later the coronation of her heir, King Charles III, were monumental productions involving the full apparatus of state, broadcast live to the world (with the taxpayer footing the bill). In contrast, the funeral of Saudi kings and the accession of a new monarch are swift and simple affairs, grounded in the Kingdom's austere brand of Islam and the royal family's tribal roots.
Succession In A Time Of Uncertainty: Revisiting The Past? (Part IV) After King Salman ascended the throne, his son Muhammad began consolidating power, presuming himself the next in line. Having eliminated his rivals and becoming effectively immune from future challenge, he has cast aside the guidelines and traditions governing the process of succession. But does the ambitious exercise to reset the political dynamic represent merely a course correction for an outdated system, or does it forebode something more sinister?
Succession In A Time Of Uncertainty: Revisiting The Past? (Part III) A generation of royals brought up to believe that each would rule in turn was unwilling to accept that this could never be realized in practice, while factional rivalries complicated the dynamics of what had been an informal process of consensus building within the family.
Succession In A Time Of Uncertainty: Revisiting The Past? (Part II) With no formal mechanism in place to decide the succession after Ibn Saud, royal family politics in the decades following his death were often turbulent, as a traditional leadership style based on personal influence and loyalty gave way to the more bureaucratic structures of a modern state. Still, there was no provision for extending the succession to the next generation of princes.
Succession In A Time Of Uncertainty: Revisiting The Past? (Part I) The crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, is set to become the first of a younger generation to sit upon the throne, a transition which represents a fundamental break with both precedent and a tradition in which of the sons of the Kingdom's founder each took their place in turn. Succession in the royal family, however, is a dynamic process, a reflection of the realities of the time as well as the political environment.

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