Arabic press review: Palestinian politicians detained in Saudi Arabia

Hamas speaks out about Palestinian politicians detained in Saudi Arabia

Palestinian group Hamas has issued a statement revealing that its representative in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed al-Khodari, has been detained with his son in Riyadh prisons for more than five months.

A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the electronic newspaper Arabi21 that the movement decided to speak out because of the 81-year old's deteriorating health conditions inside the prison.

So far, all mediation efforts made during this period to release him have failed. The Hamas official revealed that the conditions of Palestinian detainees in Saudi Arabia are "very
difficult."

"Saudi Arabia does not allow detainees to handle their funds. Their bank accounts are blocked and the
Saudi authorities are offering them and their families no alternatives," said the official.

He stressed that "all mediation efforts were rejected by Riyadh and did not succeed in resolving the
issue and releasing the detainees".

Mohammed bin Salman losing his men

London-based newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed has listed a number of men who used to work for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who recently left his employ.

"The fall of Khalid al-Falih, a powerful oil economist, is one of the strongest blows to bin Salman and his economic vision, which he has been trying to promote for and use as a pretext to power acquisition," the report said.

The former adviser to the royal court, Saud al-Qahtani, is one of bin Salman’s most prominent men
falling from favour after being directly involved in the murder of dissident writer and journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul about a year ago, according to the report.

Bin Salman did not only lose al-Qahtani because of the Khashoggi affair.

The deputy head of the General Intelligence and Security adviser to bin Salman, Major General Ahmad Asiri, has also been removed from the scene and held responsible for Khashoggi's death in protection of the Crown Prince, clarified the report.

US looking for Jordanian al-Qaeda leader

Washington has offered a $5m reward for anyone providing information about al-Qaeda's Jordanian leader Sami al-Uraydi, according to the pro-government newspaper Al-Ghad.

The Jordanian newspaper quoted a statement issued by the State Department saying Washington accused Uraydi of being involved in plots to attack Israel and the US.

Uraydi is one of three people the United States has declared as wanted, in addition to Abu Abdul Karim al-Masri and Faruq al-Suri.

The State Department pointed out that the three wanted men have been active for years in al-Qaeda and remained loyal to their leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.