Saudi Arabia rejects Israeli bid to join fight against Houthis: Israeli media

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has rejected an Israeli push to join the military campaign against Yemen’s Houthi group, despite efforts to secure Riyadh’s approval through US mediation, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Monday.

The daily, citing an unnamed diplomatic source, said the crown prince was not interested in Israeli military assistance, fearing that cooperation with Israel could provoke a negative reaction among the Saudi public.

Another source familiar with the matter said Israel hoped military cooperation with Saudi Arabia would strengthen bilateral ties and pave the way for a future normalization agreement.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on the report.

Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic relations with Israel and has maintained that normalization depends on resolving the Palestinian issue, including the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The report comes amid escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including repeated strikes on airports that have caused casualties and disrupted flights.

An attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday killed 13 people and injured more than 300 others.

Another attack on the same airport Sunday killed a Pakistani resident and injured 11 others, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation.

The escalation began in July following a period of relative calm after a UN-brokered truce took effect in April 2022.

Yemen has been at war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014 before a Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the country’s internationally recognized government.