115the Cold War was different and both were trying to present a different and
even antithetical image of themselves to the outside world; a conservative
Wahhabi state as opposed to a secular and inclusive India. Their shared
membership of the NAM was insufficient as they were politically closer to
rival blocs. Above all, the Pakistan factor considerably undermined their
ability to develop closer political ties. Under such circumstances of ideo-
logical and political differences, the Palestinian cause offered the much-
needed comfort and interest convergence. Therefore, as would be
discussed, all the significant bilateral statements contained obligatory refer-
ences to Palestine, though they were reflecting the prevailing political cli-
mate and terminology. The Indo-Israeli normalization made this position
more nuanced, echoing each other’s sensitivities and divergent interests.
saudI-PalestIne lInkage
Like other Arab countries, Saudi Arabia has a long association with and
commitment to the Palestinian cause. The establishment of the third Saudi
state in 1932 coincided with the commercial discovery of oil and the initial
problems of territorial consolidation and state building. Despite the politi-
cal rivalry with the Hashemites, the Saudi position was sympathetic and
extended limited support to the Palestinians during the days of mandate
Palestine (Hirst 1974 ). However, Ibn-Saud, the founder King of Saudi
Arabia, was aware of the global power politics, ambitions of regional lead-
ers, the significance of the Palestinian concerns for Muslims and the inter-
ests of his newly formed Kingdom. Hence, despite his sympathetic attitude
towards the Palestinian cause (Labelle 2011 ), he kept Saudi involvement
in the conflict limited.
The Palestine issue has also been a significant area of disagreement in the
Saudi-US relations. The meeting on USS Quincy in Egypt’s Great Bitter
Lake on 14 February 1945 between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and
King Ibn-Saud is often seen as the beginning of the strategic partnership
between the two (Cordesman 2010 ). Since then they have survived many
tumultuous events. Roosevelt was returning from the Yalta Conference
where the US, USSR and Great Britain discussed the post-War reorganiza-
tion of international order and heard the vehement Saudi opposition to the
idea of finding a homeland for the Jews in Arab Palestine (Lippman 2005 ).
For his part, the US president assured the monarch that he “would do
nothing to assist the Jews against the Arabs and would make no hostile
PALESTINE FACTOR