Peloni: Washington, not the Saudis, are the source of support for the Pals and the TSS.
After U.S.-led efforts at normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel stalled amid the Gaza war, officials say Riyadh won’t insist Israel take concrete steps toward a Palestinian state – and will accept a political commitment to a two-state solution instead
JPOST Feb 2, 2024 5:09 pm IST
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman speaks to U.S President Joe Biden during the Jeddah Security and Development Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 16, 2022.Credit: SAUDI ROYAL COURT/ REUTERS
Saudi Arabia would be willing to accept a political commitment from Israel to create a Palestinian state, rather than anything more binding, in a bid to get a defense pact with Washington approved before the U.S. presidential election, three sources said.
Months of U.S.-led diplomacy to get Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel and recognize the country for the first time were shelved by Riyadh in October in the face of mounting Arab anger over the war in Gaza.
But Saudi Arabia is increasingly keen to shore up its security and ward off threats from rival Iran, so the kingdom can forge ahead with its ambitious plan to transform its economy and attract huge foreign investment, two regional sources said.
To create some wiggle room in talks about recognizing Israel and to get the U.S. pact back on track, Saudi officials have told their U.S. counterparts that Riyadh would not insist Israel take concrete steps to create a Palestinian state and would instead accept a political commitment to a two-state solution, two senior regional sources told Reuters.
Such a major regional deal, widely seen as a long-shot even before the Israel-Hamas war, would still face numerous political and diplomatic obstacles, not least the uncertainty over how the Gaza conflict will unfold.
FILE PHOTO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in December.Credit: SPUTNIK/ REUTERS
A pact giving the world’s biggest oil exporter U.S. military protection in exchange for normalization with Israel would reshape the Middle East by uniting two long-time foes and binding Riyadh to Washington at a time when China is making inroads in the region.
A normalization deal would also bolster Israel’s defences against arch-rival Iran and give U.S. President Joe Biden a diplomatic victory to vaunt ahead of the November 5 presidential election.
The Saudi officials have privately urged Washington to press Israel to end the Gaza war and commit to a “political horizon” for a Palestinian state, saying Riyadh would then normalize relations and help fund Gaza’s reconstruction, one of the regional sources said.
“The message from the kingdom to America has been: ‘Stop the war first, allow humanitarian aid and commit to a just and lasting solution to give the Palestinians a state’,” said Abdelaziz al-Sagher, head of the Gulf Research Center think-tank in Jeddah, who is familiar with the ongoing discussions. “Without it, Saudi Arabia can’t do anything.”
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Credit: Fedor Selivanov / Shutterstock.c
The Saudi officials have not spelled out exactly what an acceptable “pathway” to a Palestinian state would involve, giving them leeway to strike a deal with Israel that does not involve any binding moves, the regional sources said.
There has also been no attempt to revive the policy long advocated by Saudi Arabia that offered Israel normal ties with the entire Arab world in return for its withdrawal from territories occupied in the 1967 war.
A senior State Department official said Washington was continuing talks with Riyadh on the U.S.-Saudi elements of the normalization deal – including nuclear cooperation and security guarantees – but everything rested on Israel coming into line on a pathway to Palestinian statehood and ending the war in Gaza.
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv in January.Credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
The problem, though, is that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent much of his political career opposing Palestinian statehood, has rejected outright any U.S. and Arab aspirations for a Palestinian state once the Gaza war is over.
“Normalization does require really – if not legally, at least politically – a commitment from the Israelis that they are open to a two-state solution,” said one of the senior regional sources familiar with Saudi thinking.
“If Israel stopped its military offensive on Gaza – or at least declared a ceasefire – it would make it easier for Saudi Arabia to go ahead with the deal,” the source said.
The Saudi government’s communication office did not respond to requests for comment.
CHANA-
Israel may or may not have an “agreement ” to a 2 SS. Israel’s 2SSmay not be what the International Jew Hater’s expect If so. It would be amorphous at best.
And agreements can be altered, ignored or dismissed by unacceptable conditions when the bargaining begins.
The PM is well on top of it. There has been no 2SS under his watch and there won’t be
I suggest that any 2SS will include TED’s and MUDAR’s Jordan Option, the best solution By 1000%.
Peace on condition of Israeli capitulation in the 6 days war.
Folks, I have only one thing to say: “Don’t trust them!!! Any of them!!!”
Israel has had a committment to a two state situation, suicidal non-solution for many years. It was the Muslim Arabs who would never agree, because, as Abbas has been very clear, they want all Jews gone, and they will never recognize Israel as the Jewish state. The Arab nations have many lands and Israel cannot afford to give more. We already gave Jordan a huge chunk of land. No more. And besides, every agreement we’ve made with the PA-Hamas has been broken within a short time. Never Again.
There may well be some kind of agreement between S. Arabia and Israel but as long as the news we get remains on the level of “one woman said” (in Hebrew, ???), there is nothing to discuss.
Really, how? Seems to me only the U.S. and S.A. benefit. The present arrangement suits Israel just fine.