Saudi Social Media Still Reeling From Ex-General’s Visit To Israel

JAFFA, Israel – One week on, Saudi social media is still reeling from former Saudi general Anwar Eshki’s visit to Israel.

The hashtag #Saudis_against_normalization has been launched by twitterati to express their dismay at what they see as Riyadh’s submission to the Jewish state.

“We have always been on the Palestinians’ side and forever will be, it was the policy of our fathers and our fathers’ fathers and we persist, we will never betray the Palestinian cause,” Abdelaziz wrote.

كنا ومازلنا مع فلسطين، هذا نهج أجدادنا و آباؤنا وعليه سائرون، ومعاذ الله ان نخون القضية.
#سعوديون_ضد_التطبيع pic.twitter.com/AGE6liYDvl

— عبدالعزيز العودة (@Az_Aloudah) July 30, 2016

“Hatred for Israel and the Zionist enemy is carved on to our generation’s heart,” Essam wrote. “We will carve them on our children’s hearts too.”

كراهية إسرائيل والعدو الصهيوني المحتل محفورة في قلوب جيلنا. وعلينا أن نحفر تلك القيم والمباديء في قلوب أطفالنا#سعوديون_ضد_التطبيع

— عصام الزامل (@essamz) July 30, 2016

The Saudi cleric Ali Badahdah wrote: “That’s the land we pray to, from which the prophet rose to heaven, that was conquered by Omar Ben Hatab and liberated by Saladin. The Muslims will never let the proponents of normalization sell it or lose it.”

#سعوديون_ضد_التطبيع القبلة الأولى ومسرى الرسول فتحها عمر بن الخطاب وحررها صلاح الدين ولن يرضى المسلمون أبداً أن يضيعها أو يبيعها المُطبِّعون

— علي عمر بادحدح (@AliBadahdah) July 30, 2016

The Palestinian-Jordanian journalist Yasser Zaatreh wrote: “It’s a nice hashtag that reflects the feelings not only of Saudis but of most of the nation. Saudi Arabia has a special status that will not be defiled by infiltrators.”

#سعوديون_ضد_التطبيع هاشتاغ جميل يعبر عن نبض أهلنا في السعودية، بل غالبية الأمة. بلاد الحرمين لها خصوصية، ولن تدنسها أقدام الغزاة.

— ياسر الزعاترة (@YZaatreh) July 31, 2016

Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist and director of Al Arab TV, wrote: “The worst kind of normalization is the kind offered gratuitously, because even the most formidable fortresses can be destroyed from inside.”

#سعوديون_ضد_التطبيع تيار قطع الطريق على شر اعظم ، أسوأ انواع التطبيع ذلك المجاني الذي يتبرع به "مواطن" فأقوى الحصون قد تنهار من داخلها .

— جمال خاشقجي (@JKhashoggi) July 31, 2016

Hamas was quick to welcome the hashtag, and issued a formal statement: “We welcome this position, which is for us a continuation of Saudi Arabia’s national and Islamic commitment to the Palestinian cause.”

#سعوديون_ضد_التطبيع
نعتبر هذا الرفض هو انسجام مع الموقف القومي والإسلامي للسعودية تجاه القضية الفلسطينية.

— حركة حماس (@hamasinfo) July 31, 2016

To which Majed, a Saudi man, retorted: “It is indeed Saudi Arabia’s official position, that’s why we anticipate a similar attitude to Iran from the beloved Hamas government.”

https://twitter.com/maje_sn/status/759676332615884800

On Monday, Breitbart Jerusalem reported that Hamas slammed the Saudi government for “normalizing” relations with Israel.

Breitbart Jerusalem further reported:

However, according to the Times of Israel, the meetings with Gold and Mordechai did not take place at official Israeli government facilities but at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.

Even though it is unlikely the Eshki-led delegation traveled to Israel without the Saudi government’s blessing, a source from the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the visit “does not reflect the views of the Saudi government,” according to the Saudi-owned Al-Hayat newspaper