When one of Saudi Arabia's leading Muslim leaders called this month for Muslims to avoid "passionate emotions and fiery enthusiasm" towards Jews, it was a marked change in tone for someone who has shed tears preaching about Palestine in the past.
The sermon by Abdulrahman al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, broadcast on Saudi state television on September 5, came three weeks after the United Arab Emirates agreed upon a historic deal to normalize relations with Israel and days before the Gulf state of Bahrain, a close Saudi ally, followed suit.
Sudais, who in past sermons prayed for Palestinians to have victory over the "invader and aggressor" Jews, spoke about how the Prophet Muhammad was good to his Jewish neighbour and argued the best way to persuade Jews to convert to Islam was to "treat them well".
While Saudi Arabia is not expected to follow the example of its Gulf allies any time soon, Sudais's remarks could be a clue to how the kingdom approaches the sensitive subject of warming to Israel - a once inconceivable prospect.
Appointed by the king, he is one of the country's most influential figures, reflecting the views of its conservative religious establishment as well as the Royal Court.
The dramatic agreements with the UAE and Bahrain were a coup for Israel and US President Donald Trump who is portraying himself as a peacemaker before November elections.
But the big diplomatic prize for an Israel deal would be Saudi Arabia, whose king is the Custodian of Islam's holiest sites, and rules the world's largest oil exporter.
'Test public reaction'
Marc Owen Jones, an academic from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, said the UAE and Bahrain's normalization has allowed Saudi Arabia to test public opinion, but a formal deal with Israel would be a "large task" for the kingdom.
"Giving the Saudis a 'nudge' via an influential imam is obviously one step in trying to test the public reaction and to encourage the notion of normalization,"
Jones added.
Sudais' plea to shun intense feelings is a far cry from his past when he wept dozens of times while praying for Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque - Islam's third-holiest site.
Normalization between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel, signed at the White House on Tuesday, has further isolated the Palestinians.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has not directly addressed Israel's deals with the UAE and Bahrain, but said it remains committed to peace on the basis of the long-standing Arab Peace Initiative.
Saudi Arabia, which does not recognize Israel, drew up the 2002 initiative by which Arab nations offered to normalize ties with Israel in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in 1967.
Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia to join the agreements to normalize diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship.
But Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz told the US president the Gulf country wanted to see a fair and permanent solution for the Palestinians first.
Source : AljazeeraEnglish