T. Belman. I think what is important is not what they say but what they do. I couldn’t care less that they are insisting on the API. They are normalizing relations and that’s what counts.
After Biden hails Saudi okay to Israeli overflights as first step to normalization, Riyadh’s foreign affairs minister says Palestinian statehood must come first
By JACOB MAGID, TOI 16.7.22
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks at his notes as he meets with US President Joe Biden at the Al Salman Royal Palace, Friday, July 15, 2022, in Jeddah. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — A senior Saudi minister described normalizing ties with Israel as a “strategic option,” while clarifying that a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians was a “requirement” before Riyadh would formalize ties with Jerusalem.
The remarks by Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir during an interview with CNN late Friday came after Riyadh announced that it would be opening its airspace to all civilian airliners in a move seen aimed at allowing Israeli overflights.
US President Joe Biden, who met with Saudi leaders on Friday while in Jeddah for a regional conference, called the decision the “first tangible step” toward normalized ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
But al-Jubeir poured cold water on the idea, insisting that the Gulf kingdom’s position on ties with the Jewish state have not changed.
“We have said that Saudi Arabia supports the Arab Peace Initiative. In fact, we offered it, and we have made it clear that peace comes at the end of this process, not at the beginning of it,” the senior diplomat said.
The 2002 proposal offers Israel full normalized relations with all 22 members of the Arab League if Israel agrees to a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders and with a just resolution for Palestinian refugees.
File: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)<
The plan was never welcomed by Israel, which now argues that the Abraham Accords, which saw Israel normalize ties with the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, prove that the two-decade-old proposal is no longer relevant.
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his own support for the Arab Peace Initiative during a Friday press conference with Biden in what also was seen as a rejection of US plans to advance Israel’s integration in the region without waiting for progress on the Palestinian track.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One en route to Jeddah that Biden “made the case” to Abbas for why Israel’s integration in the region can “reinforce progress on the Palestinian track.”
Nonetheless, the US insists that its efforts to expand the Abraham Accords will not replace its efforts to promote a two-state solution in what is seen as a swipe at the Trump administration’s strategy for advancing normalization, which moved the matter forward as a means for bypassing the Palestinians.
While the UAE and Bahrain, were widely understood to have agreed to normalize ties with Israel in 2020 after receiving Riyadh’s blessing, al-Jubeir said Friday that the countries that signed the Abraham Accords made their own “sovereign decisions.”
“We hope that those decisions will have a positive impact on Israeli domestic politics,” he added, falling in line with a common talking point by supporters of the accords, who argue that member countries will be able to leverage their new ties to push Jerusalem on the Palestinian issue.
Still, the Saudi diplomat insisted that his country is “committed to a two-state settlement with a Palestinian state in the occupied territories with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
“We have… made it clear that peace is possible,” al-Jubeir continued. “It’s a strategic option, but there are certain requirements that have to happen before this takes place.”
After Biden’s meetings with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the countries released a joint communique where the two sides backed the two-state solution as the only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The leaders noted their determination to remain closely coordinated on efforts to encourage the parties to demonstrate – through policies and actions – their commitment to a two-state solution,” the communique states, adding that the two countries “welcomed all efforts that contribute to reaching a just and comprehensive peace in the region.”
@SEBASTIEN-
I recall when he succeeded. It was announced that he had some ailments, and was not in good health. and, a little later, a hint that he had mild cognitive problems. Shortly after this, MBS appeared, and took over several posts from more senior relatives, then not much later it was said that he was being groomed to be the successor. And since then, in almost every state matter it is he with whom foreign officials deal.
The king makes only rare appearances and statements, which we don’t know really emanate from him , or they are designed so as to appear as what a person of his era and known outlook would say.. Looking at his face, once can see that it is a bit “vacant”. Or I could be imagining it. He’s in his late 80s, and they have if a history of marrying cousins etc. I suppose his mother’s name and antecedents are on the internet.
@Edgar Either the king is incapacitated or he isn’t. Either MBS is in charge or he isn’t.
@SEBASTIEN-
Maybe both are correct…..although I’m not sure which “both” you refer to. I gave 4-5 possibilities as well as some previously published (presumed) facts. I guess maybe “chronic ailment and Alz”.
I would hazard that with MBS to succeed, this will be the first time a non son of Ibn Saud -of whom there are still several living- will be king.
They have a good old Arab custom that as well as “making disappear” potential threats to succession, they just “pass over” some, whose mothers did not meet the required social standing level. ( a real Pesach, enactment)
I think they’re the lucky ones.
@REUVENI-
I wasn’t trying “to improve my argument”…I wasn’t arguing. If you had understanding of common colloquialisms you’d know that I was merely expressing my disdain for the way Saudia is trying to sit on the fence without getting “tucchas ache”…In this situation where they have gone very far to open normal relations with Israel, I hardly think that they’re also trying to have similar relations with Iran, which is actually a huge threat to them and the whole Middle East, and even farther afield. .
It may be that their Iran connections are not strong, and maybe to dangle as enticing possibilities for Iran, which is almost a pariah in that area.
Politicians say much but most often mean little.
Regarding Iran , have you seen that the Israel CoS has stated that Israel is preparing to definitely attack Iran. Then, to soften and generalise this crucial comment, he says that Israel must be prepared for all eventualities.. I haven’t seen any “experts’ yet commenting on what kind of ordinance Israel has, and whether their new bunker-buster would penetrate any possible reinforced cement or steel shielding. Or even if they actually got the US MOAB as was rumoured.
The “penetrating depth” is the most important, and I’ve read that the Israel bomb weighs about 5000 lbs, a sixth of the MOAB but intended to burrw deep before exploding, and with the IDF pin-point precision system can drop several in approx the same spot.
SO in fact, although I changed the original subject-in a way- we really know nothing, just speculating, with is of course, entertaining now and then.
I personally. if CoS, would get the most detailed info possible on ALL exits and air intakes-exits of the subterranean facilities and make sure they were permanently sealed. The Iranians would hardly be the equipment under-ground to excavate outwards.
The IDF may even be considering a mini- nuclear controlled, directional item. But that might create a horrendous precedent. Never mind. I give up.
I’m just a student of military possibilities and no expert. or sub-terran logistition
@Edgar: Calling guarantees shmarantees does nothing to improve your argument. However, if we simply ignore the Saudis for now, including the proposed support against Iran, they may become more amenable. At this point in time Israel does not need an ally who is likely to stab her in the back as soon as she is no longer needed.
@Edgar I’m finding articles that say both things.
@SEBASTIEN-
I read shortly after he succeeded to the crown, that the old guy was not only congenitally ill, but also an Alzheimer-ite. So is it true or not. Something must be wrong with him as he was nearly 80 as irecall when he got seated (with cushions).
And the MBS has taken over, runs everything is very telling..
I’d say that everything the old guy says is carefully vetted and if awkward, is quietly shelved. Maybe a single issue of a newspaper reporting it…or a private TV announcer especially for him.
I recall that bitter old animal Feisal saying that he would not rest until he could put his prayer mat down in the Al Aksa in Jerusalem. He murdered his predecessor.
I’ve read that this is the king’s position but MBS has been pushing towards normalization. This is not new. Of greater concern is Lapid as prime minister for the next 4 months minimum who reiterated his support for the TSS during Biden’s visit in a joint declaration. I recently read that Bibi had backtracked from his endorsement of it. I hope thats teue.
Guarantees-Shmarantees. As I pointed out yesterday they are covering their backsides, and that Saudia was also moving towards Iran, likely for the same reason…OR, it may just be a “flash-in-the-pan” because of the Biden visit.
Now Iran is going after India just announced as a FIRM ally of Israel.
Obviously Iranian strategy, the tactics are making approaches for friendly relations.
Again all this is happening against the backdrop of the Biden visit. Once the “excitement ” has died down than we shall see more realistic moves on the political front….i HOPE.
A successful “Jordan is Palestine” would bugger all that up and bring the Iranian political octopoidal quest back to “normal”
Hurry on Jordan Option.
Which guarantees are offered to peace in the region after Israel amputates the temple mount and Judea and Samaria and any other juicies the Arabs decide they need for the sovereign terrorist state of Palestine?