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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has rejected an Israeli push, made through U.S. mediation, to join the military campaign against Yemen's Houthis, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, citing a diplomatic source.
"The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to convince Saudi Arabia to allow Israel to intervene, but the crown prince is not interested in Israeli assistance because joining with Israel would not look good to Saudi public opinion," the source said.
Israeli military intervention in Yemen is "out of bounds" because of the crown prince's veto, the source told the Israeli media outlet.
The report highlights Tel Aviv's hope of using the Yemen war to move toward normalization with Saudi Arabia, as Houthi strikes on the kingdom, including deadly attacks on Riyadh's airport, escalate.
Another source familiar with the details told Haaretz that the goal was “to join hands with the Saudis,” to develop relations with the kingdom and to open the way to a normalization agreement later.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities.
Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, and its official position is that normalization is possible only after real progress toward a Palestinian state.
Trump has repeatedly promoted Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, and the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham had worked to make Saudi-Israeli normalization the basis of a post-Iran war regional order.
After Saturday's attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, Netanyahu wrote on X: "I strongly condemn the horrific terror attack at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which claimed the lives of 12 innocent people and injured hundreds more. On behalf of the people of Israel, I express our deepest condolences to the families of the murdered and wishes for a full recovery to the wounded."
"Israel expects a strong Middle East, a Middle East that stands united against threats, protects its people and builds a future of security, cooperation and prosperity for all the peoples of our region," he wrote.
The Houthis advanced along Yemen’s western coast in early September, seizing the port city of Mocha and several Red Sea islands and gaining control of the Yemeni side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Yemeni government forces have since launched a broad counteroffensive with Saudi-led air support, as the fight against the Houthis widens.
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