Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought Saudi Arabia's approval to join its military campaign against Yemen's Houthis, but Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has rejected the proposal over fears of a domestic backlash, according to an Israeli media report.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Netanyahu has been pursuing Riyadh's consent through US intermediaries as fighting between Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and the Houthis intensifies.
Citing an unnamed diplomatic source, the newspaper said the Saudi crown prince opposed direct Israeli participation because cooperation with Israel could provoke anger among the Saudi public.
Another source familiar with the discussions said Netanyahu hoped joint military action against the Houthis would strengthen relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and potentially pave the way for a normalisation agreement.
Saudi authorities have not publicly commented on the reported proposal.
The revelation comes as Saudi Arabia faces escalating Houthi missile and drone attacks, including deadly strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
An attack on Saturday killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, while another strike on Sunday killed a Pakistani resident and injured 11 others, according to Saudi authorities.
Netanyahu condemned Saturday's attack and offered condolences to the victims' families, despite Israel and Saudi Arabia having no formal diplomatic relations.
The Israeli leader has long regarded normalisation with Saudi Arabia as a major diplomatic objective, building on the Abraham Accords through which Israel established formal relations with several Arab states.
However, negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which had advanced before October 2023, were derailed by Israel's war and genocide in Gaza.
Riyadh has repeatedly insisted that normalisation must be linked to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, a position at odds with Netanyahu's opposition to Palestinian statehood.
The reported Israeli overture suggests Netanyahu is attempting to use Saudi Arabia's confrontation with the Houthis to revive prospects for rapprochement, despite the continuing political obstacles presented by the Palestinian question.
Israel has previously conducted its own military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, meaning the latest proposal concerns participation in the Saudi-led campaign rather than Israel's first involvement in the conflict.
Saudi Arabia intervened militarily in Yemen in March 2015, leading a coalition that included the UAE in support of the internationally recognised government after the Houthis seized Sanaa.
A UN-brokered truce in April 2022 substantially reduced large-scale hostilities, but renewed fighting erupted in July this year.
The latest escalation has seen Houthi forces make territorial gains along Yemen's Red Sea coast, prompting a Saudi-backed government counteroffensive and renewed attacks across the Saudi-Yemeni border.
Saudi Arabia has sought greater US assistance against the Houthis, while Netanyahu's reported proposal would bring Israel directly into a military campaign that has already strained Riyadh's defences.
For the Saudi leadership, the prospect of openly cooperating with Israel remains politically sensitive, particularly amid continuing anger over the genocide in Gaza and the absence of any progress towards Palestinian statehood.
