Al Jazeera English quietly removed an episode of its current affairs show from YouTube, in which one guest said it would be political “suicide” for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to normalize relations with Israel amid its war on Gaza.
“He would not probably survive as the future king of Saudi Arabia, if he goes ahead and normalizes in this context of war,” said Madawi Al-Rasheed, a visiting professor at the London School of Economics’ Middle East Center, during an interview last week on Al Jazeera English’s “UpFront.” She was invited onto the show, hosted by Marc Lamont Hill, to discuss the risks of escalation in the Middle East amid Israel’s ongoing siege and bombing campaign of Gaza.
Al Jazeera English posted the episode online and promoted it on social media, directing users to watch it on YouTube (such tweets are still live).
Al Jazeera is owned by Qatar, a small country that at times has had a tense relationship with its larger neighbor, Saudi Arabia.
“For a long time I refused to appear on Al Jazeera English but accepted last week because of the crisis in the region,” she wrote.
According to foreign agent registration filings, the kingdom has, in recent weeks, recruited the assistance of Qorvis, a D.C.-based PR firm that represented Saudi Arabia in the wake of the September 11 attacks and after agents for the Saudi government assassinated Washington Post journalist Jamaal Khashoggi.
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