Saudi Arabia: Tensions revive with Hashemites over Jerusalem’s holy shrines


In depth
Issue 1117 - 07 Jan 2021 | 5 minute read

Jordanian anxiety levels ratcheted up in December, in the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s clandestine flight to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) at Neom. Despite deep rifts within the House of Saud over how to approach the issue of normalisation – on the cusp of a change at the White House – Jordan’s King Abdullah II fears the Saudi leadership is aiming to extract some major concessions from Israel in return for diplomatic recognition.