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Much talk has circulated about Saudi Arabia reforming, but this increasingly appears to be more to wishful thinking from Westerners than a genuine reflection of what is really happening inside the country. Saudi Arabia is, in fact, reportedly becoming more true to its Wahhabi origins, rife with gross human rights abuses and now rewards for jihad terrorists. “Saudi king rewards 1,000 Palestinian terrorists’ relatives ‎with free Mecca pilgrimage,” by Aharon David, Palestinian Media Watch, July 29, 2025:

There has long been speculation about Saudi Arabia normalizing its relations with Israel, as part of US President Donald Trump’s “Abraham Accords.” However, a new reward by the Saudi king to “honor” Palestinian terrorists’ families shows that the Saudi leadership does not reject Palestinian terror, nor those terrorists who murdered Israeli civilians.

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas himself “thanked Saudi Arabia and its leadership for the generous grant they provided this year to 1,000 Palestinian pilgrims from among the families of the Martyrs, the prisoners, and the wounded” [Official PA TV News, June 9, 2025]. The relatives of “Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded” – meaning dead, imprisoned, and wounded terrorists – were flown to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

This gesture constitutes a sign of “loyalty” to the terrorists, and a commitment to “constant sponsorship and honoring” vis-a-vis their families, as noted by official PA TV:

Six months before October 7, Saudi Arabia prepared to release more Hamas-linked prisoners following a meeting with a Hamas senior delegation. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ meetings with Saudi Arabia’s King Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also coincided with the Hamas delegation’s visit.

On October 7, Saudi Arabia along with Qatar and Iran were the first to immediately blame Israel for the savage Hamas attack, because of the so-called “occupation.”

According to a Saudi dissident, Yahya Assiri, who is a human rights activist and former member of the Royal Saudi Air Force:

Nobody in the country – nobody at all – is allowed to say anything except if there is permission from the authorities. They are monitoring people very harshly, very closely for every single tweet, for every single word and they [have] sentenced people to years and years behind bars for just single tweets.

The European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) reported a discrepancy between the international perception of Saudi Arabia and its domestic reality:

While Saudi Arabia invests heavily in initiatives to enhance its global image, such as hosting international events and promoting economic reforms, these efforts stand in stark contrast to the domestic reality of repression. The government’s attempts to rebrand itself internationally cannot obscure the ongoing human rights abuses and the high cost of political dissent within the country.

The ECDHR also stated:

The use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia has reached unprecedented levels. In 2024, the Kingdom executed 198 individuals, the highest number in 30 years. Many of those executed were convicted of offenses related to political dissent or drug-related charges. This surge in executions has drawn international condemnation, with human rights organizations accusing Saudi Arabia of displaying a chilling disregard for human life.

Human Rights Watch also reports atrocious working  conditions for migrant construction workers, leading to gruesome deaths including electrocutions, decapitations and falls from heights; Amnesty International reports the intentional abuse of infidel African domestic workers, pointing to an ingrained societal problem from the top down.

Palestinian Media Watch continues:

Trump and Israel should make it clear to the Saudi king that honoring terrorist murderers of Jews by rewarding their families is terror glorification and sends a message to Palestinians that Saudi Arabia welcomes Palestinian terror. This message is incompatible with a normalization process with Israel.

While many have hope that Saudi Arabia will normalize relations with Israel, one should remember that the Saudis demand a two-state solution, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital. Whatever charade Saudi Arabia is putting on for the West, it is considered to be an improvement from Iran, but it does not bode well for Israel or Western interests in the long term, or for the suffering dissidents within Saudi Arabia.