The Israeli media reacted with surprise to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman’s opening speech of the Arab-Islamic Summit on Monday. He called the Israeli atrocities in Gaza an active genocide and condemned the new Israeli law to eliminate UNRWA. This was compounded by accusations of Israel undermining the Palestinian Authority. Bin Salman stressed that the Palestinian cause is a central issue in the region, calling for full membership of Palestine at the UN. He went on to criticise Israeli violations of Al- Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. But the most significant statement was his condemnation of Israeli aggression against Iran, which Israeli commentator Barak Ravid considered an unprecedented change in Saudi Arabia’s previous stance on Tehran.

The Saudi-hosted gathering was officially termed a “follow-up summit” of Arab and Muslim countries, a year on from the previous one. Attending leaders reiterated the condemnation of Israel’s aggression against the Palestinians and Lebanon as part of the talks. The call for ending the war and achieving a just and lasting peace that meets the Palestinian aspiration to self-rule through a two-state solution has long been the Saudi position adopted again by the summit participants.

The summit comprised 22 members of the Cairo-based Arab League and 57 members of the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The 79 participants include countries that recognise Israel and others firmly opposed to its regional integration. Last year’s summit in Riyadh saw disagreement on such measures as severing economic and diplomatic ties with Israel and disrupting its oil supplies.

Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and Lebanon seemed well aligned with the Saudi position on regional developments and Israeli aggressions on the Palestinian and Lebanese people. “KSA is asserting its leading role in the Arab and Muslim world when dealing with the regional issue of managing the different agendas of the states at play. On the other hand, Riyadh is trying to build up to what everybody calls ‘the day after’. Now, with Trump in the White House, the Saudis anticipate more pressure to normalise with Israel. They need to have a bargaining chip if they are to ask for concessions from Israel in return. An Arab and Muslim backing of Riyadh would be essential,” a retired British diplomat who previously worked in the region told Al-Ahram Weekly.

The summit’s call on the international community to pressure Israel to respect international law might not achieve much more than the previous summit in 2023, as many analysts believe. Yet this time the summit not only comes amid escalating aggressions by Israel that included Lebanon but also coincides with shifting tides in the region and beyond.

Not only are Saudi-Iranian relations improving, traditional courses of action are changing too. Last week, Qatar told both Israel and Hamas it is suspending its mediation role as no progress on a ceasefire and hostage release is being made. Media reports that Qatar asked Hamas leaders to leave the country on the request of Washington were downplayed by both Doha and Hamas. But as Qatar hosted Hamas’ political bureau in liaison with both of the summits in Washington and Tel Aviv, relinquishing its mediation role logically means its channel with Hamas is no longer needed, as one Gulf commentator noted. He hinted that this leaves Saudi Arabia in the lead.

Coinciding with the summit in Riyadh, the Saudi Military Chief Fayyad Al-Ruwaili met with Iran’s Major General Mohammad Bagheri in Tehran to explore defence cooperation, marking another step in the ongoing rapprochement between the two countries. This dialogue aimed to bolster military and defence relations and potentially contribute to regional stability, according to Saudi and Iranian defence statements. Those developments are clear messages from Saudi Arabia contradicting what Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu promotes as a crusade against “the evil” of Iran and its proxies which was supposed to placate the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia.

But the summit’s message, primarily voiced by the Saudis, was directed at another shifting position and that is the new American President Donald Trump, who will assume power in a few weeks. “This summit is very much an opportunity for regional leaders to signal to the incoming Trump administration what they want in terms of US engagement… The message will likely be one of dialogue, de-escalation and calling out Israeli military campaigns in the region,” as senior Gulf analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank Anna Jacobs told AFP news agency.

Media reports mentioned that Trump phoned Netanyahu asking him to “end the Lebanon war” before his inauguration in early January. But such a call from Trump might have less to do with what the Arab-Islamic Summit delivered than what Trump had promised earlier, which is to “stop all wars”. Yet Arab and Muslim leaders reaffirmed their position on what they are prepared to accept in any future settlement. And the strong language from Saudi Arabia at the summit, along with other concerned leaders including Egypt and Jordan, refutes any suggestions they are willing to sacrifice basic Palestinian rights for peace with Israel.

In summing up the meeting in Riyadh, the official Saudi Press Agency said, “Key priorities [of participant Arab and Muslim countries] include halting the aggression, protecting civilians, providing support for the Palestinian and Lebanese people, unifying positions, and exerting pressure on the international community to take decisive steps to end the ongoing attacks and establish lasting peace and stability in the region.”

This is almost the same conclusion as that of the 2023 summit, but it appears to galvanise the Saudi-led Arab and Islamic position on the regional conflict in a different way.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 14 November, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly