Less than three weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat beside President Joe Biden and marveled that a “historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia” seemed within reach
FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York, Sept. 20, 2023. Less than three weeks ago, Netanyahu sat beside Biden and marveled that an"historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia" seemed within reach. Now, the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinians is threatening to delay or derail a country-by-country diplomatic push by the United States to improve relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
The attacks were a shock to American, Israeli and Saudis officials, who all were riding high on the prospect that an Israeli-Saudi agreement was starting to come into focus.White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan noted at a recent event hosted by The Atlantic that challenges in the Mideast remained, but the amount of time he was spending on crisis and conflict in the region compared with his recent predecessors was"significantly reduced.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the Saudi response. To be certain, Biden and U.S. officials have privately made clear to Netanyahu that any deal needed to include significant concessions for Palestinians, although members of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition have made clear that an independent Palestinian state is not something they’d abide.
U.S. officials say they intend to press ahead, but they also acknowledge efforts are unlikely to bear fruit while there is an active conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Analysts note that the Saudis have reason not to walk away from efforts at forging a normalization deal.
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