By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Despite Riyadh’s lack of ties to Israel, Saudi Arabia is allegedly increasing the number of its residents who are arrested for making remarks critical of Israel about the Gaza War.
According to Bloomberg, one of the recent detainees was an executive of a business associated with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 economic plan. The CEO’s opinions on the war were deemed offensive by the local authorities.
Bloomberg is told by unidentified sources that two people have asked for a boycott of American fast-food establishments in the kingdom and that a media figure has stated that Israel should never be forgiven.
According to a person acquainted with Saudi Arabia’s thinking, the arrests are intended to discourage people from making statements about the war online that could jeopardise national security.
One of the nation’s maximum-security prisons has seen a significant increase in inmates within the previous six months, according to a second Saudi source with knowledge of the situation. Several Saudi diplomats and human rights organisations confirmed this, claiming that since October 7, there has been an increase in arrests for offences relating to social media. However, according to the sources, a large number of the incarcerations might be for posts unrelated to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Fearing that pro-Palestine demonstrations will spark new uprisings against their governments, Riyadh and its regional allies, Egypt and Jordan, have clamped down on domestic protests.
The study was released when Saudi Arabia and Israel proceeded with an accord mediated by the United States.
Prior to October 7, the Biden administration had been in talks with Saudi Arabia and Israel about a possible peace deal. These conversations continued during Israel’s Gaza war, but it seems that obstacles remain in the way of an agreement.
As the discussions with Riyadh continued, an accord might see the US providing technologies to support Saudi Arabia’s nuclear power development in exchange for normalisation relations with Israel.