Hebrew newspaper: Bin Salman is ready to recognize Israel, and his father is the “obstacle”.
Hebrew newspaper: Bin Salman is ready to recognize Israel, and his father is the “obstacle”.
2026-05-27
Shafaq News – Middle East
Evangelical leader and ally of US President Donald Trump, Mike Evans, reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told him during a private meeting that he was ready to recognize Israel “today,” but that his father, King Salman, still constituted an “obstacle” to that, according to the Hebrew newspaper “Jerusalem Post”.
Evans said: “When I spoke to the Crown Prince, he told me that he would recognize Israel today, but he said that his problem lay with his father.”
Evans, founder of Friends of Zion and a prominent evangelical supporter of Israel, added that he met with the Saudi Crown Prince for two hours in the presence of his brother and the Saudi Foreign Minister. According to Evans, his brother expressed a similar view.
On the other hand, Evans said that the Saudi Crown Prince directed sharp criticism at the Palestinians during their private conversation, considering that they “wasted Saudi money.”
He added: “They should not attack Israel, but rather follow its example.”
Evans also claimed that Mohammed bin Salman rejected the idea of dividing Jerusalem into two capitals, saying: “When he spoke about Jerusalem, he said that if there ever became two capitals in Jerusalem, one of them would be the capital of terrorism.”
Evans added that he was not convinced that the establishment of a Palestinian state was the real obstacle to Saudi recognition of Israel, adding: “I’m not sure that was the reason that held it back. I think things have changed. I think he will do it, and I think Donald Trump is serious about this.”
Evans believes that “Trump has significant negotiating leverage with Saudi Arabia, and I have no doubt that he is seeking to push these countries to join the Abraham Accords because he is trying to move towards a genuine peace.”
He also described the expansion of the Abraham Accords as part of a broader regional battle against Islamist movements, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood.
He said: “Most of the ideas and rhetoric that have caused problems for Israel and for Jews around the world have come from the Muslim Brotherhood. By building this alliance with Sunni states through the Abraham Accords, the group can be put in a weak position.”
A Saudi source confirmed to CNN on Monday that the Kingdom will not normalize relations with Israel until there is an irreversible path towards the establishment of a Palestinian state, following US President Donald Trump’s statement that countries in the Middle East will be obligated to recognize Israel once an agreement is reached with Iran.
The source added that Saudi Arabia “is holding firm to its position… which is that there is an irreversible path towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
Trump called on Middle Eastern and other countries to “mandatorily” sign the Abraham Accords after reaching an agreement to end the war with Iran, while simultaneously threatening military action “bigger and more powerful than ever before” if the two sides fail to reach an agreement to end the conflict.
Trump added that he discussed the matter during telephone calls with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Bahrain.
Trump said that with all the efforts the United States has made to broker a peace agreement, joining the Abraham Accords – a series of agreements normalizing relations between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – should be a prerequisite.
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