Saudi Arabia is taking small but inevitable steps towards normalising relations with Israel

What seemed like a fantastical impossibility in the past is perhaps now not a matter of if but when, writes Bel Trew

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Saudi Royal Palace/AFP via Getty)

After the collective gasp when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain announced they would become the first Gulf states to normalise relations with Israel, there has been feverish speculation over whether Saudi Arabia, whose king is the Custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, and whose economy is the largest in the Arab world, would follow suit.

Donald Trump, who brokered the agreements, certainly thought so.

Saudi’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud publicly ruled that out before a comprehensive peace deal that the Palestinians would agree to.