One of the most interesting discussions currently underway in the Arab discourse pertains to how Israel and Saudi Arabia have increasingly similar interests. The two countries have never had a formal relationship, but they sometimes find themselves in the same boat. They are both close to Washington, but these days that relationship has chilled somewhat. They both have a common enemy, Iran, and a common ally, Egypt, which is both valuable and unstable. And each of them, in their own particular arenas, is fighting the threat posed by jihadist organizations.

Have these common interests also stepped up the ladder to a level of secret cooperation between them? Rumors about this have been making the rounds for a few years now, both in Israel and elsewhere. During the Second Lebanon War, the foreign press published claims that the Saudis worked with Israel to coordinate the landing of planes with humanitarian aid at the Beirut airport, which was vulnerable to Israeli attacks. After the assassination of senior Hezbollah official Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus in February 2008, newspapers identified with Hezbollah professed that an Arab state had helped Israel carry out the assassination. As an avid supporter of the Palestinian struggle for independence, Saudi Arabia may have had good reasons to deny its contacts with Israel, but it had even better reasons to establish those contacts.

If Jerusalem really does believe that Riyadh shares common interests with it, it should also be well aware of what it is dealing with. Saudi wealth is a major component in Hamas’ activities. One of the central commandments of Islam is zakat, or donating to charity. Businesses, economic organizations and entrepreneurs throughout the kingdom choose to transfer their donations to Palestinian factions. These funds are collected through foundations, which operate with the approval and encouragement of the regime. Saudi Arabia is also the main supporter of the rebels in Syria. As far as it is concerned, the fall of Iran’s most prominent Arab friend would be a major victory over the Alawite Shiite camp. But if Riyadh’s vision is fulfilled and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad does fall, Syria could descend into anarchy. After years in which Israel thwarted the efforts of jihadist organizations to attack it, the country could wake up one morning to discover that it shares a common border with an Islamist emirate.

Internationally, Saudi Arabia has the reputation of being a moderate Arab state. For years, the royal palace has garnered expertise in reducing tensions and resolving conflicts between hawkish Arab parties. Saudi Arabia is prone to accompany its efforts at mediation with generous grants to the rival factions. A diplomatic strategy based on cash-laden suitcases has proven itself time and again when common sense has exhausted itself. The Saudis’ most prominent achievement in this role was the Taif Agreement of 1989, which ended the civil war in Lebanon. Another important initiative was the Saudi peace proposal to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, which earned Riyadh plenty of points in Israeli public opinion, too. The proposal was approved at the Arab League Summit in the spring of 2002, and became the official peace plan of the Arab states.