Blinken unsure Israel will make compromises for Saudi deal

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold up painted hands in protest as US Secretary of State An
AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday he was unsure whether Israel was ready to make compromises to reach a deal to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, notably on a pathway to a Palestinian state.

His frank assessment came after Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, visited both countries and briefed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the “potential” for a historic accord.

But Blinken, who has repeatedly shuttled between the two countries since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, acknowledged doubts about whether Netanyahu and his hard-right government would meet Saudi requests if the normalization issue became more than “hypothetical.”

“I can’t tell you whether Israel — whether it’s the prime minister or the country as a whole — is prepared to do in this moment what would be necessary to actually realize normalization,” Blinken told a Senate committee.

“Because that requires an end to (the war in) Gaza and that requires a credible pathway to a Palestinian state,” he said.

Both Netanyahu and then US president Donald Trump have hailed Israel’s 2020 normalization with three Arab states — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco — as a signature achievement.

US and Israeli leaders see Saudi Arabia as a much bigger prize as the kingdom is the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites.

But Saudi Arabia, in return for a deal, wants progress on a Palestinian state — an idea resisted by years by Netanyahu.

The kingdom also wants alliance-style security guarantees from the United States, which has long sought but struggled to reduce its Middle East footprint, as well as possible civilian nuclear cooperation.

On the US-Saudi negotiations, Blinken said, “I think we’re at a point now where those agreements are very much within reach — very close reach.”

Biden’s push with Saudi Arabia comes despite criticism of the kingdom from parts of his Democratic Party and the president’s own promise as a candidate to treat Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as a “pariah” due to his human rights record.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham — a close ally of Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House in November elections — acknowledged that Congress may be more likely to approve a US-Saudi deal with Biden as president.

“I think this needs to be done on your watch,” Graham told Blinken.

“As a Republican, I think most of my colleagues would embrace a security agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia if it would lead to normalization and a brighter future for Israel and the Palestinians,” he said.

Graham urged Israel “not to let this moment pass.”

“To my friends in Israel, I will never abandon your security, but we’re going to have to sit down as a world and make some hard decisions,” he said.

Authored by Afp via Breitbart May 21st 2024