The National Interest described in a new report the Saudi Arabia as no ordinary country, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s rule as not secure, saying that the crown prince must gauge where the winds of regime stability are heading.
The report further charged that ‘the mafia-style murder of Saudi journalist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul soured MBS’ image as a statesman throughout the region and the international community.'
Saudi Arabia is no ordinary country, and MBS’ rule is not secure. As a result, the crown prince must gauge where the winds of regime stability are heading. Increased tensions over the Israel-Palestine issue also raise another specter that, if left unchecked, could challenge MBS’ hold on power, the report reads.
The National Interest report also pointed out that joining the Abraham Accords by a Saudi leader would have the same magnitude as the late Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat's signing of the Camp David Accords with Israel.
MBS is well aware that reconciliation with Israel also led to his assassination in 1981, it said.
The US-Saudi relationship, bounded by oil and security, is being challenged by changing American interests and objectives in the Middle East that do not necessarily align with Saudi expectations, it further added.
MBS Ignores Jeddah Deadly Flooding
The Wall Street Journal revealed in a new report titled ‘Flooding in Saudi Arabia Kills Two, Stirs Rare Public Anger' that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has directed more resources toward what he calls “megaprojects,” including luxury seaside resorts and yachting marinas, while ignoring the deadly floods that hit the country's second-largest city last week.
The report said that the deluge recalled floods in 2009 that left more than 120 people dead, and in 2011 when 10 people died.
Flash floods have caused problems in Jeddah for decades, where fingers were pointed on corrupt municipal contracting.
In 2017, de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched an anti-corruption campaign in which arrests were made over the misallocation of funds that was blamed for the failure of the city’s drainage system.
In the past decade or so, Jeddah has installed two drainage canals and a 23-foot-high dam to deal with floodwater. Earlier this year, it allocated $106 million to upgrade drainage systems.
However, residents say they have seen little improvement in municipal services.
While the crown prince has announced a $20 billion revitalization project in Jeddah, the authorities there have started by leveling dozens of neighborhoods occupied largely by migrants that the government says were built illegally and foster criminal activities.
MBS’s rule not secure
At the same time, the Saudi government has clamped down on political rights, arresting dozens of people for criticism of its policies and performance.
In this regard, fourteen civil society organisations called for the immediate release of the detained human rights defender Dr. Mohammed al-Qahtani, who has been subjected to enforced disappearance since 24 October 2022.
The appeal was sent to several Saudi Arabian embassies and the Saudi Human Rights Commission on 18 November 2022.
We urge you to convey to your government the calls to disclose his whereabouts and to release him immediately and unconditionally, the letter reads.
The letter further pointed to similar situations which have led to wholly avoidable deaths, including that of Musa al-Qarni, who was horrifically murdered by an inmate at Dhahban Prison in October 2021.
