CONTEMPORARY EURASIA IX ( 2 )
was rather limited . 10 In May 1948 , Riyadh sent a modest number of weapons , soldiers , aircraft , and no more than a handful of untrained tribesmen riding camels to the battlefield . 1112
However , the Six-Day War in 1967 was a turning point in Saudi Arabia ’ s active involvement in the conflict . Since then , Saudi Arabia has actively formulated the Arab strategy towards Israel and became a regional conflict mediator . 13 Several major developments conditioned this . First , Israel occupied the eastern part of Jerusalem , which meant that the Al-Aqsa Mosque ( the third holiest site in Islam ) was no longer under Muslim control . Second , the war caused the end of the era of President Nasser of Egypt . Third , the emergence of oil as a new factor in shifting the balance of power in the region . The last point in particular assured Saudi ’ s ability to have a decisive impact on the conflict . It was realized in the form of an oil embargo on the United States and other countries in 1973 as a response to their support and financial aid to Israel during the war . 14 The hostility between Israel and Saudi Arabia continued in the 1970s as well . The ice melted , and a real thaw in relations occurred in the early 1980s when Crown Prince Fahd proposed a peace initiative in 1981 , which outlined a framework for a comprehensive peace between the conflicting sides .
The Fahd Initiative became an Arab program for peace through the Arab League 15 : “ This new phase of expanded Israeli – Saudi engagement continued throughout the 1990s . In 1991 , Saudi Arabia proved responsive to Washington ’ s demands at the Madrid Conference and agreed to join Arab – Israeli working groups on water , environmental protection , economic cooperation , refugees , and arms control . By the time the Oslo I Accords were concluded in 1993 , Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf monarchies opted to moderate their traditional policy of boycotting Israel ”. 16 In the 2000s , conditioned by 9 / 11 , in which fifteen citizens of
10
Marta Furlan , “ Israeli – Saudi Relations in a Changed and Changing Middle East : Growing Cooperation ?” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs 13 , no . 2 , ( 2019 ): 1 – 15 .
11
Alexander Bligh , “ Toward Israeli – Saudi Coexistence ,” Jerusalem Quarterly , no . 35 , ( 1985 ): 24-47 . 12 Simha Flapan , The Birth of Israel : Myths and Realities , ( New York : Pantheon Books ,
1987 ). 13 Jonathan Adelman , The rise of Israel : A history of a revolutionary state ( London : Routledge , 2008 ), 73-91 . 14 Abadi , Saudi Arabia ’ s rapprochement with Israel : the national security imperatives , 1-17 . 15 Joseph Kostiner , “ Saudi Arabia and the Arab – Israeli Peace Process : The Fluctuation of
Regional Coordination ,” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 36 , no . 3 , ( 2009 ): 417 – 429 . 16 Furlan , Israeli – Saudi Relations in a Changed and Changing Middle East : Growing
Cooperation ? 2 . 8