Saudi royal says Israel ‘genocidal,’ hopes Netanyahu will be brought before ICC
Speaking in Bahrain, Prince Turki Al Faisal also calls on Trump to bring peace to Middle East, citing his ‘strong mandate’ from American voters
MANAMA, Bahrain – A senior Saudi royal termed Israel “genocidal” and an “apartheid” state on Saturday, and also that he hoped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking at the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain, Prince Turki Al Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief for over two decades, also called on incoming US President-elect Donald Trump to bring peace to the Middle East.
His comments follow increasingly tough statements from Saudi officials since talks were paused on a potential normalization of ties with Israel after the start of the Gaza war.
“Israel today, according to international human rights groups, is not only an apartheid colonial state, but it is also a genocidal one,” Prince Turki said.
“It is committing genocide on the people of Gaza.”
He added: “It’s about time for the world to… take the necessary steps to bring those who are charged by the International Criminal Court to justice.”
The ICC’s judges issued the warrants last month for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on charges that Israel has targeted civilians in its war against Hamas in Gaza and used starvation as a method of war — both claims vehemently denied by Israel.
Israel is also not a member of the ICC, has firmly rejected the allegations against it and its leaders, and has rejected the court’s jurisdiction.
Saudi’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also accused Israel of genocide, at a joint Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Riyadh last month.
He told Arab and Muslim leaders gathered to press for the establishment of a Palestinian state that the kingdom renewed “its condemnation and categorical rejection of the genocide committed by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people, which has claimed the lives of 150,000 martyrs, wounded and missing, most of whom are women and children.”
Amnesty International leveled the same charge of genocide this week in a new report that was dismissed by Israel as “fabricated” and “based on lies.” It was also dismissed by the organization’s local branch, Amnesty Israel, and by Germany and the US.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 44,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle as of November and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Prince Turki, also a former Saudi ambassador to the US, said Trump’s “strong mandate” from American voters “could enable him to provide the statesmanship that is highly needed in the world.
“Friendly countries in the region are hoping that Mr. Trump pursues what he started before, to bring peace with capital letters to the Middle East,” he said.
“It is time for America, under your presidency, to change the course of this troubled region,” he added.
During Trump’s first administration, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco signed the Abraham Accords recognizing Israel, a break with the long-held Arab consensus that there should be no ties without the creation of a Palestinian state.
However, Riyadh has also moved to patch up ties with Iran after a March 2023 rapprochement deal brokered by China, reshaping the diplomatic landscape.
