Saudi Arabia makes relations with Israel conditional on resolution of the Palestinian issue

 Riyadh is now pushing for increased military cooperation with Washington. US officials say Israel must take concrete steps to establish a Palestinian state. Saudi Arabia

Saturday 30 November 2024

Washington/Riyadh (News International New - 30 November 2024) Saudi Arabia has abandoned its attempt to reach a defense agreement with the United States in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel. The American broadcaster reported, citing Saudi and Western sources, that Riyadh is now pushing to increase military cooperation with Washington.

Saudi Arabia had expressed a soft stance on the Palestinian state earlier this year in an attempt to reach a comprehensive mutual security agreement with the United States. Riyadh had told Washington that in this regard, a public commitment by Israel to a two-state solution to the long-standing Middle East problem could be enough for Riyadh to normalize relations with it. But in the context of public anger in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region over Israel’s military operations in Gaza, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has once again made recognizing Israel conditional on a Palestinian state.

The Saudi crown prince has said that to achieve this goal, Israel must take concrete steps towards the establishment of a Palestinian state. Western diplomats say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still eager to normalize relations with the powerhouse Saudi Arabia as a historic milestone and a sign of broader acceptance in the Arab world.

According to the report, Netanyahu has faced strong domestic opposition to making any concessions to the Palestinians since Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7 last year. Netanyahu knows that any gesture in the direction of a Palestinian state would break their ruling coalition. Sources said that Israeli and Saudi leaders are facing internal pressure from their supporters regarding their stance on the issue.

In this context, Riyadh and Washington hope that a modest defense cooperation agreement can be reached before President Joe Biden leaves the White House in January. According to the report, Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the question of the Saudi position on a Palestinian state. On the other hand, any full US-Saudi defense agreement would need to be ratified by the US Senate with a two-thirds majority. The ratification process would not begin until Riyadh recognizes Israel. The report said that the cooperation agreement currently under negotiation would include joint military exercises and exercises to deal with regional threats, especially threats from Iran.

The deal under consideration would foster cooperation between American and Iranian defense companies, and would include safeguards to prevent Saudi Arabia from cooperating with China. The new agreement would promote Saudi investment in defense technology, particularly drones. The United States would increase its presence in Saudi Arabia through assistance in training, logistics, and cybersecurity. The United States could also deploy a battalion of its Patriot missiles to enhance missile defense and integrated deterrence.

In this regard, Abdulaziz Sagher, head of the Saudi Arabian Gulf Research Institute think tank, says that Saudi Arabia will seek a security agreement through which it will receive US military cooperation, but it will not be the kind of defense agreement that the United States has with Japan and South Korea, which Riyadh had previously wanted to obtain. The report says that the current US administration hopes that an agreement on security guarantees can be reached before President Joe Biden's presidency ends in January, but there are still some obstacles in this regard. US officials say that they are aware that Saudi Arabia officially wants security guarantees, especially for the acquisition of modern weapons, but sources said that US officials cannot say anything about whether Saudi Arabia would prefer to carry out this work under the current administration or the incoming Donald Trump administration. US officials say that we are in talks with Saudi Arabia. Several lines of this effort are on the table.