Saudi Arabia steps up Gaza arrests as Israel ties edge closer

Saudi Arabia has stepped up the arrest of citizens for social media posts related to the Israel-Hamas war as the kingdom signals a readiness to agree to diplomatic relations with the Jewish state — if it commits to Palestinian statehood.

Detaining people for online comments — even those more than 10 years old — and restrictions on free speech and political expression are the norm in Saudi Arabia. Yet the recent spate of arrests are motivated by security concerns specifically linked to the deadly Oct. 7 incursion of Israel by Hamas and its aftermath, according to Riyadh-based diplomats and human rights groups.

Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, and left many more in urgent need of food and health care. That has triggered a popular anti-Israel backlash across the Arab world and in Western countries including the United States, where violent clashes have taken place on university campuses.