Some of the harshest criticism so far by a Saudi official has occurred, with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia saying that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza. The prince has also criticized Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Iran. Israel, for its part, has vehemently denied any genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Riyadh and Tehran have shown signs of improving relations after Prince Mohammed has warned Israel against launching attacks against Iran. Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader was joined by other heads of state that called for a total withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank and Gaza, and the foreign minister has related his disappointment that the international community has not ended the Israel-Hamas conflict. According to a recent UN Human Rights report, more than 70% of verified casualties over a six-month period in Gaza were women and children. Leaders at the recent summit with Arab and Muslim leaders have also condemned Israel’s violence against UN staff and facilities in Gaza. Last month, the Knesset, Israel’s unicameral legislature, passed a law that prevented the UN Palestinian refugee agency from operating in Israel, accusing them of colluding with Hamas. Several countries have expressed concern that transfer of aid to that area will be limited.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most powerful and influential countries in the Middle East, and as such its opinion carries weight. While Israel has denied any genocide in Gaza, the accusations don’t look good. It will be a challenge for Israel to regain its reputation, especially considering it’s already in a rough place ideologically compared to the rest of the majority Muslim Middle East. The war in Gaza has gone on for too long in the summit’s view, and it was unclear in the article whether the international community would make moves to stop the war. However, this means that once the war is over, Israel will likely be facing allegations for war crimes. We can only guess the penalties that will occur once that happens.
The UN Human Rights report is certainly problematic for both sides of this conflict. It said that the high number was largely due to Israel’s use of weapons with large area of effect in densely populated areas, though some deaths can be attributed to stray Palestinian missiles. In any case, Israel is being backed up against a wall, and it has an ultimatum: either brush off the violations and keep going to protect its territory, or it can take human rights into consideration and use different weapons in order to fight its enemy. From an offensive realist perspective, Israel believes that Palestine and now Hezbollah needs to be wiped out. After the initial attacks from Hamas, and now terrorist moves by Hezbollah, Israel is taking aggressive measures in order to destroy both.