Is Neom Saudi Arabia’s bridge to Israel?

After the United Arab Emirates (UAE) normalised relations with Israel recently, many commentators are suggesting that Saudi Arabia will be next to do so. It would be a high risk strategy for the Saudis to do so, with much of the Arab world seeking to distance themselves from the state occupying Palestinian territory.
But Saudi Arabia is desperate for investment and western backing for its so-called “giga projects”, including Neom – the megacity vanity project projected to cost around $500 billion. Would it take the leap and find common cause with Israel?
Neom would already neighbour the Israeli resort town of Eilat. And a normalisation of relations between the two states would certainly calm the nerves of western backers.
But aside from the economic practicalities, Saudi Arabia and Israel have a common enemy – Iran. It would make logical sense for Israel and Saudi Arabia to work together in this regard. And behind the scenes, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), has already been making in-roads.
Saudi media, which would not dare publish material that might make the dictatorship uneasy in any way, has for some time been allowing space to voices advocating closer ties to Israel. And in June, a Twitter account linked to the Saudi embassy in Washington, tweeted that Neom was to use Israeli cybersecurity company Check Point Software as part of the Neom project – although that claim was later denied.
According to an article in the Taipei Times, Mohammad Yaghi, a research fellow at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, said that “Neom requires peace and coordination with Israel, especially if the city is to have a chance of becoming a tourist attraction”. A research paper by Yaghi noted that Gulf states were increasingly seeking Israeli technology, especially in the areas of surveillance and missiles.
Saudi Arabia has been silent on the UAE-Israel deal, purportedly organised by US president Donald Trump. However, all indications are that a Saudi-Israeli pact of some kind would be welcomed by both parties, were it not for the scandal that might erupt in the Arab world were it to happen.
The key factor here may simply be Saudi Arabia’s desperation for western investment, especially with Neom and other projects linked to its Vision 2030 strategy looking increasingly shaky amid the fallen price of oil, coronavirus and a growing international public understanding of its appalling human rights record.
It remains to be seen whether the country that is home to Mecca would dare risk the wrath of its neighbours by being seen to abandon its purported support for Palestinians by joining up with Israel.