Amid hushed talk of war, Saudi fundraises for Gaza

Saudi Arabia said Thursday it was launching a fundraising campaign for war-torn Gaza, creating a rare opening for residents to show solidarity with Palestinians.

The move comes as the kingdom attempts to strike a balance between championing the Palestinian cause -- its traditional role -- and keeping attention on domestic economic and social reforms spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

It has been nearly one month since the October 7 attacks in which Hamas militants killed 1,400 people and kidnapped more than 230, according to Israeli officials.

Since then, Israel has relentlessly bombarded Gaza and sent in ground troops in an assault that the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed 8,700 people, two-thirds of them women and children.

While the Saudi government has issued repeated statements condemning attacks on civilians in Gaza, the response from the Saudi public has been fairly muted, in large part because there are few safe outlets for any kind of political speech.

Authorities do not allow the kind of pro-Palestinian protests seen in other Arab countries since the war began.

Public social media posts are also dicey in a country where judges routinely hand down heavy sentences for content critical of the government.

Some Saudis have settled for social media posts on private accounts.

"We cannot talk about supporting Palestine publicly," said Ali, a government employee who did not want to give his surname due to the sensitivity of the issue.

"I used to pay money from my own pocket to support the Palestinians during the intifada 20 years ago. Now we have been silenced and we cannot even write a supportive post on social media."

- 'We cannot stop our lives' -

Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites, has never recognised Israel and has long fashioned itself as a champion of the Palestinian cause, issuing statements condemning the recent attacks on Gaza civilians.

The fundraising campaign unveiled Thursday fits "within the framework of the kingdom's well-known historic role in standing with the brotherly Palestinian people," said Dr Abdullah al-Rabeeah, head of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

King Salman donated 30 million Saudi riyals (roughly $8 million) to the campaign, while Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, donated 20 million Saudi riyals (roughly $5.3 million), SPA said.

As of early Thursday evening, more than 186,000 donors had contributed 118.4 million Saudi riyals (roughly $31.5 million), according to an official website.

Some expressions of support for the Palestinians have proved controversial, however.

Last month, the Al Hilal football club posted a picture of a player wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, only to delete it soon afterwards.

Several people who shared the post subsequently expressed regret, including sports journalist Ahmed al-Ajlan, who wrote: "I apologise for publishing tweets related to political matters in our beloved sport."

Politics-free messaging seems to resonate with some Saudis like Jamila, who told AFP that such matters were best left to those in power.

"I feel sad for the Palestinians and I can donate to them, but we cannot stop our lives," said the 28-year-old fitness coach, who wanted to be identified by a pseudonym because of the topic's sensitivity.

- Keeping options open -

Hovering over any discussion of the war is continued speculation about whether Saudi Arabia would still consider recognising Israel for the first time.

Before the violence broke out, Saudi officials were participating in US-brokered discussions about normalising ties with Israel.

Speaking to Fox News in September, Prince Mohammed said: "Every day we get closer" in reference to a diplomatic breakthrough which would have reordered the Middle East.

But with Gaza under fierce bombardment, those talks have been put on hold, a source briefed on the process told AFP in mid-October.

Analysts say the process could be revived depending on how the war plays out.

Saudi officials "don't want to stir up pro-Palestinian sentiment in a way that could constrain them in the future if they choose to pursue normalisation," said Andrew Leber, an expert on Saudi Arabia at Tulane University.

"At the same time, they feel they need to, at least at the official level, demonstrate that they are making some efforts to try to broker a ceasefire -- recognising how this remains an important issue to many Saudis."

As the war rages on, Saudi officials are pushing ahead with events intended to showcase Prince Mohammed's Vision 2030 reform agenda, including a major investment forum, the first fashion week in the capital Riyadh and a heavyweight bout between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou.

Responding to online criticism of that approach, Turki Al Sheikh, head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, said last week that "every Saudi, including myself, is busy with the development and renaissance of his country".