In some of his strongest criticism of the country since the war began last year, the crown prince made this statement during a gathering of leaders of Islamic nations hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Monday.

“The Kingdom reiterates its condemnation and absolute refusal of the collective genocide committed by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people,” the country’s leader said said.

The crown prince, widely known by his initials MBS, also defended Iran, in stark contrast to his comments in 2017 comparing the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Adolf Hitler, as reported by CNN.

He urged the world community to “compel Israel to respect Iran’s sovereignty and not to attack (Iranian) territories.”

Saudi Arabia has recently signaled more political involvement and policy shifts in support of the Palestinians.

The high-level meeting was also attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who were also at the meeting, remain embroiled in an ongoing conflict over Turkey’s military operations in northern Syria and its support for rebel groups.

Saudi’s governmental state agency said the stated goal of Monday’s meeting was “unifying positions” and “exerting pressure” on the international community to take steps to end the “ongoing attacks and establish lasting peace,” in the region.