Video of Israeli settlement's Saudi construction materials goes viral

Video of Israeli settlement's Saudi construction materials goes viral
A video that appears to show Saudi industrial products stored outside a factory in an Israeli settlement circulated on social media on Thursday, sparking outrage on Arabic-language Twitter.
2 min read
29 November, 2018
SABIC specialises in the production of petrochemicals, industrial polymers and metals [Twitter/@hureyaksa]
A video appearing to show construction materials from a leading Saudi manufacturing company used in a factory located inside an Israeli settlement went viral on Thursday, sparking outrage on social media.

The video, which was recorded by a Palestinian man, shows dozens of bags containing building materials stacked in the car park of a factory allegedly located inside the Barkan settlement in the northern West Bank.

The bags can be seen bearing the logo of Saudi manufacturing company SABIC, fuelling speculation over an unofficial start of trade relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

SABIC is specialised in the production of petrochemicals, industrial polymers and metals, and exports its products to many countries around the world.

Thursday's video was met with fury as many social media users questioned the presence of Saudi-manufactured products inside the Israeli settlement.

"How did these Saudi products get to this Israeli settlement?" one Twitter user asked.

"How can anyone continue to defend [the crown prince] and the terrorising Saudi regime?" another user said.

"Is this aid from the Saudis to the Israeli settlers?" another user asked.

Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have official diplomatic relations, however recent reports have surfaced indicating extensive behind-closed-doors diplomatic and intelligence cooperation.

Earlier this week, it emerged that the Gulf kingdom purchased a range of sophisticated Israeli spyware technology from Israel ahead of a purge on regime opponents, in which dozens of highly influential individuals - including members of the royal family - were arrested and allegedly tortured under the guise of a corruption crackdown.

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