So, with so much in common, why wouldn’t the Saudis come out of the closet and formalize ties with Israel? Novik says that while Riyadh’s happy to cooperate covertly, it can’t do so openly for one reason: lack of progress in the Palestinian peace process.
But what if for the Saudis, and other Arabs, it’s not so much about the Palestinians (which, let’s face it, they care little about), but about the Jews?

As one Western diplomat who travels often to Riyadh and other Arab capitals says, “In the Saudi kingdom you have the top echelon, where some are like Prince Turki. Men of the world. These reasonable guys run major state organs and will gladly cooperate with Israel on a host of issues.”

But then, he adds, “you have a lot of people in government, under these experienced wise men, but running things nevertheless, who have extreme views. They see Christians, Jews — or, for that matter, Shiites and other non-Wahabi sects — as infidels.”

And these guys, the diplomat added, are more representative of the Saudi public. So ties with Israel are very hard to sell politically.