Does Khashoggi's killing change bin Salman's policies in the region?

Al Jazeera Net - Doha

The death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi does not seem to go without changes that overshadow Saudi Arabia's foreign policies and rearrange its home, where Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has taken over all power, after much of the influential royal family.

The case of Khashoggi's death at his consulate in Istanbul on October 2 helped to direct attention to Saudi foreign policy, especially its war in Yemen for the fourth year in a row, leaving tens of thousands of people dead, more than two million homeless, And famine in this country.

The killing of Khashoggi - who demanded a halt to the war in Yemen - had a clear impact on European demands to stop the arms trade with the Kingdom. Austrian Foreign Minister Karen Kniessel told the German newspaper Die Welt that the EU should stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi's death. Will also help end the "heinous war in Yemen".

The comments of Austria - the current EU president - came after Germany said it would stop agreeing to export arms to Saudi Arabia until the circumstances of the Saudi journalist's death were clarified, as well as similar statements from the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada.

In a sign of possible US pressure to stop the war in Yemen, US media reported on Saturday that Congress would soon discuss a bill that would block any cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the field of nuclear technology and armament, in a move to punish the kingdom for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi war leads to famine and disease outbreaks in Yemen (Reuters)

In what appeared to be a pre-emptive move to the US decision, the Saudi-UAE alliance said in an official statement that it had asked the United States to stop its air refueling of operations in Yemen.

US Defense Secretary James Matisse said the Saudi-UAE alliance's decision to stop airlifting its planes in Yemen came in consultation with Washington, adding that his country would continue to work to reduce civilian casualties and expand emergency relief efforts in Yemen.

The Washington Post said that the administration of President Donald Trump was ending that support, which allows the bombers to fly longer and fly in the air longer times to attack their targets.

Battle of Hodeidah
This comes at a time when the attack to control the city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea to a street war, amid the intensity of the use of artillery and air strikes in the fighting between the Houthis on the one hand and the pro-government forces backed by the Saudi-Saudi alliance on the other hand.

Observers believe that Saudi Arabia - along with the UAE - is seeking similar shots of the recent war, to strengthen the gains on the ground before the cessation of the war and go to negotiations with the Houthis.

If Khashoggi's death highlights Bin Salman's foreign adventures, the siege of Qatar alongside the Yemen war stands out as an unaccountable adventure.

Although there are no clear signs that the Gulf crisis, which has besieged Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, in addition to Egypt and Qatar, is in the offing, there are signs such as easing the media rhetoric against Qatar and Mohammed bin Salman's remarks, in which the Qatari economy praised the recent investment conference in Riyadh.

If the leaks, which have been circulated and commented on by Qatari journalists, indicate Riyadh's desire to resolve the crisis with Doha and send officials on this matter, it will undoubtedly show the Kingdom's desire to ease the pressure on it.

Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid al-Jarallah said two days ago that there was a "positive vision to contain the Gulf dispute." He said that the day would come when the page of this dispute would be resolved and the GCC would rebuild itself stronger than it was.

Internal movements
While the West has been drawn to foreign policy, the other eye is on internal movements, particularly in the royal court. Saudi authorities released last week princes from the ruling family that the Saudi Crown Prince had detained.

The last to be released was Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahad, and before him was Prince Khalid bin Talal, which observers saw as an outlet for pressure under which the son of Salman, the ruling family, which deprived many of their children of their powers and influence.

Prince Ahmed bin Abdul-Aziz, the former leader of the United Arab Emirates, returned to Saudi Arabia after assurances.

Some believe that Prince Ahmed may play a future roundabout, especially since he was deputy interior minister for many years and became interior minister for a few months in 2012.

It was not uncommon for many Saudis to be angry when their authorities recognized Khashoggi's death in her consulate at the hands of government officials close to the authority.

Despite the statements of the Minister of Civil Service Sulaiman Al-Hamdan that the decision is due to the keenness of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz to raise the performance of the government sector and its development, it was noteworthy that the government itself stopped a few months ago public bonuses and linked to the performance of the employee and evaluation to improve the overall performance, before retreating now and free of these Controls.

At the same time, there were questions about the timing of King Salman and his son's visit to the Qassim and Hail region, where they were welcomed last week, despite the crisis and the international pressure on the country.

If Western and Arab countries are fearful of instability in Saudi Arabia due to any incoherent change at the top of Saudi Arabia's power pyramid, many see it as an opportunity to lift Mohammed bin Salman's immunity and make changes by the ruling family to limit his unlimited powers inside the kingdom and his adventures abroad.