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JERUSALEM — In a surprising televised monologue, a senior member of the Saudi royal family and former ambassador to Washington accused Palestinian leaders of betraying their people, signaling an erosion of Saudi support for an issue long considered sacrosanct.
“The Palestinian cause is a just cause but its advocates are failures, and the Israeli cause is unjust but its advocates have proven to be successful,” the royal, Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, said in the first episode of a three-part program, which aired Monday on the Saudi-controlled Al Arabiya satellite channel.
“That sums up the events of the last 70 or 75 years,” the prince said.
Prince Bandar’s 40-minute program on Monday and a sequel that aired Tuesday appeared to be a way for the kingdom to shift its narrative of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without having to put it in the mouths of any current officials.
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