DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab nation and home to Islam’s holiest sites, has made its official position on the region’s longest-running conflict clear: Full ties between the kingdom and Israel can only happen when peace is reached with the Palestinians.
Yet state-backed Saudi media and clerics are signaling change is already underway with Israel something that can only happen under the directives of the country’s powerful heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The divergent messages on the possibility of Saudi ties with Israel reflect what analysts and insiders say is a schism between how the 35-year-old prince and his 84-year-old father, King Salman, view national interests.
Its no secret theres a generational conflict, said New York-based Rabbi Marc Schneier, who serves as…