In 1925, the house of Saud drove the Hashemite clan from their historic fiefdom of the Hejaz, which includes the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and which their ancestors had ruled since the 10th century, thus inaugurating a rivalry that persists today. But, on June 1, the granddaughter of a cousin of the Saudi king wed the Hashemite crown prince of Jordan. The marriage, like the dynastic unions of pre-20th-century Europe, is thus laden with diplomatic significance, as Harold Rhode explains:

In Muslim culture, bygones are rarely bygones. Muslims are prepared to wait for generations if necessary to avenge their defeats or perceived slights to their honor. Nevertheless, there are ways to mollify such disputes. One of the most important is for senior members of tribes, clans, and family units to sit down and work out a truce. In order to cement this truce, they then marry their sons and daughters to members of their opponents’ clan.

The marriage of Crown Prince Hussein and Rajwa al-Seif is a case in point and a particularly significant one. That such an important branch of the Saudi royal establishment was prepared to let one of its own daughters marry into the Jordanian Hashemite ruling family indicates that, after 100 years of enmity, the Saudi royal family feels secure enough to bury the hatchet and build a familial alliance with its rivals. It also shows that the Hashemites are willing to put aside their unspoken but ever-present claims to Mecca, at least for the time being.

All of this has major ramifications for the political future of the Middle East. . . . The Saudis and Jordanians share the same enemies: radical Sunni Islam, led by the Muslim Brotherhood and the likes of al-Qaeda, and radical Shiite Islam led by the Iranian regime. Thus, an alliance between the Saudis and the Jordanians makes geopolitical and ideological sense.

The rapprochement between the two countries and their ruling tribes also has ramifications for Israel, which shares these same enemies. Although it is rarely made public, the Saudis and the Hashemites view the Palestinian Authority, Hamas (a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood), and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (backed by Iran) as mortal enemies. These three groups are also threats to Israel.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.