US President Donald Trump has reiterated his support for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, despite CIA assessment that the Saudi royal ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.

Trump refused to comment on whether the crown prince was complicit in the murder, despite pleas from Senators to condemn the gruesome murder of the Washington Post columnist more than two months ago.

“He’s the leader of Saudi Arabia. They’ve been a very good ally,” Trump said in an interview in the Oval Office.

Asked by Reuters if standing by the kingdom meant standing by MBS, Trump responded: “Well, at this moment, it certainly does.”

Trump said that the “crown prince vehemently denies” involvement in a killing that has sparked outrage around the world.

The US president has come under fierce criticism from fellow Republicans in the Senate over the issue, particularly after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed them. Last month, the CIA assessed that MBS ordered the killing, which Trump called “very premature”.

“You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organised by people under the command of MBS,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said last week.

A bipartisan group of Senators introduced a resolution last week saying MBS was complicit in the murder.

Trump also said he hoped US senators would not propose stopping arms sales to the Saudis, deals he has doggedly fought to save ever since the gruesome details of Khashoggi’s murder were leaked by Turkey.

“And I really hope that people aren’t going to suggest that we should not take hundreds of billions of dollars that they’re going to syphon off to Russia and to China,” Trump said.

Trump and his cabinet members have dismissed reports of a CIA assessment that Prince Mohammed ordered the killing.

“We have no smoking gun the crown prince was involved, not the intelligence community or anyone else. There is no smoking gun,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last week.

The US president himself said last month that the truth may never come out regarding the Khashoggi murder.

“It could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t,” Trump said in a much-criticised statement.

This week, the US Senate will consider a joint resolution condemning the crown prince for the killing, something that the president would have to sign or veto if passed by Congress. Trump has said he would meet senators.

The US president said he is more open to ending US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, something several US politicians have pushed for in recent weeks.

“Well, I’m much more open to Yemen because frankly, I hate to see what’s going on in Yemen,” Trump said.

“But it takes two to tango. I’d want to see Iran pull out of Yemen too. Because – and I think they will.”

A four-year-old Palestinian boy has died after being injured by Israeli gunfire at a routine protest near the fence with Israel, Gaza’s health authorities said.

The Ministry of Health spokesperson, Ashraf al-Qidra, said that Ahmed Abu Abed died late on Tuesday.

“Ahmed Abu Abed, aged four years and eight months, died as a result of the wounds he received last Friday east of Khan Younis,” al-Qudra said in a statement on Tuesday.

In the hospital where the boy died, 38-year-old Bassem told AFP news agency he was the child’s uncle.

He said Abu Abed was injured by shrapnel when his father was shot during regular Friday protests, dubbed the Great March of Return.

The boy’s funeral will take place on Wednesday.

The Israeli army said on Wednesday it was reviewing the incident while accusing Hamas – the group governing the Gaza Strip – of using residents as cover for attacks.

A fragile calm has taken over the besieged enclave since an Egyptian-brokered deal between Hamas and Israel was announced last month.

The truce was designed to restore calm and end two days of Israeli aerial attacks on Gaza which began after Palestinian factions fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for an undercover Israeli operation that killed seven in Gaza.

At least 14 Palestinians and two Israelis were killed in the two days of violence.

More than 195 Palestinians killed

The killing of four-year-old Abu Abed follows months of demonstrations by Gazans along the fence with Israel, demanding their right to their ancestral lands from which they were expelled 70 years ago.

The Great March of Return rallies culminated on May 15 to mark what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or Catastrophe – a reference to the forced removal of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and villages to clear the way for Israel’s establishment in 1948.

So far, more than 195 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, one of the most densely populated places on earth.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed since the protests began on March 30.

In September, seven protesters were killed by Israeli gunfire, including two boys aged 12 and 14.

This was the bloodiest day since May 14 when more than 60 Palestinians were killed in Gaza during protests against the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

Melbourne, Australia – Friends and supporters of Australian-based refugee Hakeem Al-Araibi are stepping up calls for his release from detention in Thailand, where he faces extradition to Bahrain, the country where he was born.

Al-Araibi, who once played football for Bahrain’s national team, appeared in a Bangkok court on Tuesday where the judge extended his detention by 60 days to give Bahrain time to make its case.

“Please stop them,” a handcuffed Al-Araibi told journalists as he was escorted outside the courtroom in a video circulated on social media. “I am Australian, not Bahraini. I didn’t do anything,” the 25-year-old added.

A group of the footballer’s friends – mainly refugees, asylum seekers and students of Bahraini descent -have been holding a protest outside the Thai consulate in Melbourne, Australia’s second city, day and night for the past few days.

“I think Hakeem has been targeted because he’s a national figure, plus his brother is very active [politically], so they just target the whole family,” said Bassam*, one of Al-Araibi’s friends.

Thailand said it was acting on an Interpol “Red Notice”, an international arrest warrant that had been issued at Bahrain’s request when it detained Al-Araibi on November 27 after arriving in Bangkok for his honeymoon.

The footballer, a Shia Muslim in a country that’s predominantly Sunni, fled Bahrain four years ago saying he had been tortured after being arrested in 2012. Australia recognised him as a refugee last year.

“This is someone who fled his home country after being tortured, and there is every risk he will face the same treatment again if he is forced back,” Evan Jones, programme coordinator at the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, said in a joint statement with ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.

“Returning Hakeem Al-Araibi to Bahrain would not only be cruel and inhumane, it would also violate international human rights law. Thai immigration authorities should immediately release him from detention and ensure that he is allowed to return to Australia without any harm coming to him.”

Bahrain convicted Al-Araibi in his absence of vandalising a police station, sentencing him to 10 years in prison. He has denied the charges, saying he was on the pitch in a football match at the time.

‘Humble, respectful’

Since arriving in Australia, Al-Araibi had built a new life for himself in Melbourne’s sprawling suburbs, playing as a defender for Pasco Vale, a semi-professional club in the city’s northwest.

“There was no coincidence that his role was a big assistance to our performance,” Pasco Vale coach Vitale Ferrante told Al Jazeera, adding that the team had just enjoyed its best-ever season.

“From when he walked through the door he was just a humble, respectful individual and he fitted in straight away,” said Ferrante.

Bassam described him as “very charming”.

“He’d always find a way to cheer you up. I had actually an embarrassing situation where I needed clothes. He was more than happy to help me out. Although he needed them because he doesn’t make a lot of money, he gave them to me anyway.”

Australia’s wider footballing community has rallied around the player.

Football Federation Australia has written to the Thai ambassador in Canberra, while Football Victoria, which oversees the sport in the southern Australian state, said it had sent a letter addressed directly to Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha.

“Everybody’s really shocked,” said Ferrante, the coach. “Being Australian, we’re not exposed to this kind of stuff. I think it’s shaken everybody up and everybody’s really concerned about his welfare,” he added.

“It’s not just about political stuff, it’s about humanity,” added Jalil*, another friend protesting against the detention outside the Thai consulate.

“How do you see someone suffering and do nothing? It’s not just about he’s our friend. It’s about humanity, trying to fight for someone.”

Life in danger

Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne has expressed her concern at Al-Araibi’s detention and called on Thailand to return him to Australia.

“Returning Mr Al-Araibi to Bahrain from where he fled would contravene his rights under international human rights law,” Payne said in a statement.

Australian consular officials had visited Al-Araibi and were in regular contact with him, she said.

Fatima Yazbek, the secretary of the Sydney-based Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, said Hakeem faced the risk of “jail, torture, (and) unfair trial” if returned to Bahrain.

“His life would be in danger,” she told Al Jazeera.

“We were in jail when we were in Bahrain,” said Abdullah*, another Bahraini refugee outside the consulate in Melbourne.

“I know what is happening if he gets back to Bahrain. That’s why we’re here.”

Thailand is not a signatory to the United Nations refugee convention and the footballer could face months in detention in Thailand as the case moves through the courts.

But his friends in Australia remain optimistic he will return home.

“They’re going to get a really important team member back,” said Pascoe Vale’s Ferrante of his team. “We’ll have to throw a little party.”

*asked not to use his real name for fear of retaliation