By Carlos Abadi
Saudi Arabia’s recent aggressive stance against Israel normalization—including efforts to undermine the Abraham Accords—marks a striking reversal from just two and a half years ago, when Riyadh seemed poised to join the accords itself. The explanation may lie not in Gaza, but in Neom. Mohammed bin Salman’s signature Vision 2030 has crumbled spectacularly. The $500 billion Neom mega-city has been scaled back by over 90%. The Line now targets just 300,000 residents instead of 9 million. Billions incinerated on vanity projects while oil revenues haven’t matched the fantasies. The promised transformation to a diversified, developed economy has proven to be exactly what skeptics always said: a mirage in the desert. For a regime that stakes its legitimacy on delivering prosperity and positioning the Kingdom as a rising power, these failures are politically toxic. But there’s an alternative path to prestige in the Arab world that requires no economic success: championing Palestine. Unable to showcase gleaming new cities and economic miracles, Saudi Arabia has pivoted to third-worldist grievance politics. Carrying the banner of « Free Palestine » costs nothing but offers what Vision 2030 couldn’t deliver: acclaim from the Arab street and the Global South. Wave the Palestinian flag, denounce Israel, and watch your legitimacy soar among populations who care far more about symbolic solidarity than Saudi human development. Saudi efforts to undermine the Abraham Accords serve a dual purpose: they burnish Riyadh’s « resistance » credentials while deflecting from its own failures. If normalization with Israel is the problem, then Saudi Arabia’s economic stagnation isn’t. When you can’t build Neom, build your reputation as Palestine’s champion instead. It’s cheaper, easier, and plays better in Cairo, Amman, and Beirut than another failed mega-project. Saudi Arabia hasn’t abandoned pragmatism for principle—it’s simply discovered that grievance politics is more affordable than flying cars and linear cities.