King Salman: Lebanese and Palestinian affairs

The monarch in mid-July met Lebanese Forces party head Samir Geagea, a presidential candidate backed by old Al-Saud ally Saad Hariri. Contained in the recent WikiLeaks release of Saudi diplomatic cables was a document saying Geagea’s party was in such a dire financial state that it had asked Riyadh for money. On 17 July, King Salman had a meeting with senior members of Hamas. The Hamas contingent included politburo chief Khalid Mishaal, his deputy Moussa Abu Marzouk and the movement’s Turkey-based official Saleh Al-Arouri.