Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) rejected an offer of military assistance from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aimed at countering intensifying Houthi drone and missile attacks, fearing severe domestic public backlash, according to diplomatic sources cited by Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Tuesday (October 13, 2026).
Through US diplomatic intermediaries, Netanyahu proposed striking or assisting against Houthi targets in Yemen as a pathway to strengthening bilateral security cooperation and advancing long-sought normalization pacts. However, Prince Salman declined the offer, concerned that accepting overt military aid from Israel amid ongoing regional anger over Gaza would inflame public sentiment across Saudi Arabia and the wider Islamic world.
Normalization talks between Riyadh and Tel Aviv—which gained momentum under US President Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords framework—were effectively frozen following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict. Saudi Arabia has maintained its firm stance that any future diplomatic recognition of Israel is strictly contingent upon concrete steps toward establishing an independent Palestinian state.
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Reported by International Desk • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
