Saudis have taken to social media to counter a campaign to encourage normalisation with Israel, tweeting using the hashtag “Saudis against normalisation”.

Activists described normalising relations with Israel as “an explicit act of treason that must be reconsidered and whose dangers must be unveiled.” This comes as news has been circulating that Saudi Arabia’s actions against Qatar in recent weeks have been to harm the Palestinian resistance and edge it closer to the occupation state, Israel.

They also demanded people not adhere to policies of normalisation with Israel, which has never had any positive views on Arabs or Arab-Muslim territories.

Their actions came after famous Saudi social media user “Mujtahid”, who is close to the Saudi royal family, announced that Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman ordered a media campaign be launched to prepare the public for the improvement of relations with Israel. According to “Mujtahid”, Prince Mohammad “allocated a reward for the most creative commentator or tweet in this campaign”.

Read: Saudi official: Relations with Israel will be based on mutual interests

However a number of social media users said calls for normalisation were “decoys” setup to distort the Kingdom’s image. They described the campaign as a “fitna”, sedition.

Twitter user Mr Brary Maaly wrote: “The Saudis who call for normalisation are either liberals who are originally Zionists, or those who were deceived by the American version of Islam which is led by the UAE.” He also added: “#Saudis against Normalisation… This hashtag represents our real voice, and not the hashtag that was trending this morning via prepaid spots.”

السعوديون الذين يدعون إلى التطبيع إما ليبراليين متصهينين أصلا أو ممن انخدعوا بإسلام النسخة الأمريكي التي تقوده الإمارات#سعوديون_ضد_التطبيع — معالي الربراري (@Mrbrary) June 27, 2017

Haniya Arafat wrote: “The idiots launched the hashtag #Saudis_for_normalisation… The Saudis have responded with the hashtag #Saudis_against_normalisation. This reflects the rejection of any official Saudi normalisation.”

أطلق الأغبياء هذا الهاشتاق #سعوديين_مع_التطبيع ورد عليهم السعوديين بهاشتاق #سعوديون_ضد_التطبيع ، وهذا يعبر عن رفض أي تطبيع سعودي رسمي. — عرفات هنيه (@HaniyaArafat) June 27, 2017

Editor of Arabi21, Feras Abu Helal tweeted: “The hashtag #Saudis_against_normalisation has outdone the hashtag #Saudis_for_normalization because it is the true voice of the Saudi Arabian people, who have always believed the Arab conflict with the occupation state to be a chief cause.”

هاشتاج #سعوديون_ضد_التطبيع يتفوق على #سعوديين_مع_التطبيع، لأنه الصوت الحقيقي للشعب السعودي الذي آمن دوما بمركزية الصراع العربي مع الاحتلال. — فراس أبو هلال (@FerasAbuHelal) June 27, 2017

The political analyst Yasr Al-Zaatreh said in a tweet: “Do not be deceived by pseudonyms and those who work on social media platforms… Our people have enough dignity and have enough awareness not to be misled.”

لا تغرنك الأسماء الوهمية، والموظفون في مواقع التواصل. شعوبنا أصيلة، ومخزون وعيها عصي على التزوير. — ياسر الزعاترة (@YZaatreh) June 27, 2017

Abdul Rahman Al-Duwairi pointed out: “80% of the comments on the hashtag #Saudis_for_normalisation are in favour of the hashtag #Saudis_against_normalisation.”

حتى هاشتاغ #سعوديون_مع_التطيع

فإن ٨٠٪ من مضامينه هي داعمة لهاشتاغ#سعوديون_ضد_التطبيعِ — أ.عبدالرحمن الدويري (@aarbbay) June 27, 2017

“#Saudis_for_normalisation This label does not represent the Saudi brothers, just attempts by cynics and electronic armies to incite public opinion,” explained Nassir Al-Thani.

#سعوديين_مع_التطبيع هذا 🖕 الوسم لا يمثل الأخوة السعوديين ، مجرد محاولات من المتصهينين والجيوش الالكترونية لتأليب الرأي العام. #كن_واعي — ناصر آل ثاني (@n_al2) June 27, 2017

While Khalid Al-Shareef wrote: “The hatred towards Zionists in Palestine is not motivated by politics or border disputes nor is it dictated by special profit making or any regional interests. It is rather motivated by religious faith.”

مقت الصهاينة في فلسطين لا تحركه دوافع سياسية أو صراع حدود أو منافع للبعض أو مصالح إقليمية، بل هي عقيدة !#غزه_تحت_القصف#سعوديون_ضد_التطبيع — م. خالد الشريف (@jassaskh) June 27, 2017

Others warned that social media activists should be careful not to fall into the trap of fake accounts and those who wish to cause problems amongst Muslims and Arab states. The Truth Seeker posted: “No way can you deceive the Arabs with intelligence tricks. And no way can we forget about Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

#سعوديين_مع_التطبيع هيهات أن تخدعوا العرب بألاعيب استخباراتية

وهيهات أن ننسى القدس والمسجد الأقصى بل نحن العرب مع 👇#زوال_اسرائيل_قريبا — الباحث عن الحقيقة (@truth_1976) June 27, 2017

Wada’an Tuty reduced the idea: “If all the countries of the world normalise their relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia will not do so, neither its leadership nor its people,” adding: “By God, this will not happen as long as we have Arab and Muslim blood running through our veins.”

لو تطبع جميع دول العالم مع اسرائيل لن تطبع السعودية معها لا قيادة ولا شعب والله لن يحدث هذا ما نبض فينا عرق عربي اسلامي#سعوديين_مع_التطبيع — وداعاً توتي (@ccccc86394529) June 27, 2017

Di Abdulaziz put the idea of normalisation down to a lack of awareness and education. “I feel sorry for the generations that did not know about Ahmed Yassin nor did they hear about the death of Mohammed Durra or sing hymns for Palestine and Al-Aqsa, these are generations that do not loathe Israel as it should be loathed.”