Anti-aircraft defense in action
Saudi Arabia apparently intercepts missiles aimed at Israel
November 28, 2023, 10:38 a.m
The country does not seem to be as neutral as Saudi Arabia is in the war between Israel and Hamas. The kingdom’s anti-aircraft defenses are intercepting missiles fired from Yemen, according to a report.
According to a media report, Israel is receiving support from Saudi Arabia in the war. As the “Spiegel” writes, the air force of the Kingdom of Israel has already used its anti-aircraft defenses several times since the Hamas attack on October 7th and intercepted rockets fired from Yemen.
According to the report, analysts see this as an indication that Saudi Arabia is sticking to the long-term goal of normalizing relations with Israel – despite Israel’s military operation against Hamas. So far, Saudi Arabia’s heir to the throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has remained neutral in the conflict. Saudi interests are affected in several areas. On the one hand, Iran – the protective power of the terrorist militia Hamas – is the archenemy of Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, solidarity with the Palestinians is part of the reason of state.
The kingdom itself remains silent about the activities of its air force. But according to the report, the Saudi Arabian air force has already intercepted rockets fired towards Israel at least twice, once over the Red Sea at the end of October and once over its own territory at the beginning of November. For this purpose, the Air Force used either the ground-based Patriot system or Iris T missiles from Saudi Arabian Typhoon Eurofighters.
Bin Salman sees Israel as a militarily potent adversary of their common arch-enemy Iran. The rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel is also supported by the USA. A few days after the Hamas massacre, bin Salman publicly condemned Israel and called for a ceasefire. He had specially invited all heads of state in the region to a pompous summit in Riyadh. However, no harsh measures were taken. A possible option would be to reduce the amount of oil produced.
In recent days, Israeli government representatives had paid their respects to the summit, which was tightly led by bin Salman. This prevented a public display of hatred against Israel. The German federal government is even hoping that Saudi Arabia could get involved in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after the end of the military operation against Hamas. Germany is also relying on the kingdom to reform the autonomous authority.