While Saudi Arabia and Israel, two of the most influential countries in the Middle East and financial and political power, do not have an official relationship so far, the “movement behind the scenes” between the two countries’ diplomats and businessmen is “increasing”, according to the newspaper. The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper said that Riyadh surveyed the Saudi public, especially the youth, and witnessed a “major change” in the direction of supporting the establishment of relations with Israel.
The Saudi researcher and head of the Century Center for Studies, Saad bin Omar, says that “Saudi public opinion is consistent with the kingdom’s official diplomatic approach, which sees no benefit in achieving relations with Israel without offering something to the Palestinians.”
On May 24, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said that “the Saudi vision says that normalization will eventually happen.”
???? | Your Highness, the Minister of Foreign Affairs @FaisalbinFarhan While participating in a forum #davosDisruption of peace initiatives to solve the Palestinian issue is destabilizing the security and stability of the region pic.twitter.com/d9RJ6Z8T8P
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs ???????? (@KSAMOFA) May 24, 2022
Farhan added, “Normalization will bring great benefits to everyone, but we will not be able to reap those benefits without mentioning the Palestinian cause, and we have seen in the past weeks clear indications that failure to resolve this issue will always be a cause of instability in the region.”
The Saudi minister denied the existence of current relations with Israel, and said that the Kingdom does not hide its relations.
And the Saudi researcher, Bin Omar, added to the Al-Hurra website that “the kingdom said through the foreign minister that it will not establish any relations with Israel without a solution to the Palestinian issue.”
He stressed that his own view says that “there is no progress in relations between the Kingdom and Israel.”
She adds that Prince Khalid bin Salman, the son of the Saudi monarch and brother of the crown prince, told a number of US officials regarding this during his recent visit to Washington.
But Ben Omar says that “most Saudi public opinion agrees with the official view that says, “What will Israel offer us when we establish relations with it?”
Ben Omar believes that “there is a feeling in all Arab countries that the relationship with Israel is neither advanced nor delayed.”
He added, “Any Saudi-Israeli relations will not benefit us at all, whether at the strategic, economic, or even security levels.”
A relationship “years away”
The Wall Street Journal notes that a series of secret political, military, and economic steps might accelerate the long, constructive effort to end the conflict between two countries witnessing a common threat in Iran, and quotes people it described as “participating in these efforts” that “may take years before they become public.” According to the newspaper.
She said that these talks are a key element in efforts to repair the tense relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, as the Biden administration adopted the efforts of former President Donald Trump to build relations between Israel and the Arab world without waiting for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
She describes the talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel as “serious”.
With the help of the Biden administration, the newspaper says, Saudi Arabia and Israel are trying to reach an agreement that might give commercial aircraft expanded rights to overfly Israel from Israel over the kingdom and pave the way for Saudi Arabia to gain full control of two strategic islands in the Red Sea, Tiran and Sanafir, according to people familiar with the efforts.
date of meetings
The Kingdom and Israel have been considered official enemies since 1948, but there are constant reports of Israeli officials traveling to the kingdom.
Among those meetings, the newspaper said, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and then US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, in 2020 in an attempt to advance diplomatic talks.
However, Saudi Arabia denied that this visit took place in response to what Israeli press reports claimed in 2020 that Netanyahu had made a secret visit to the kingdom.
Yossi Cohen, who served as the head of the Israeli intelligence service when the country was mediating normalization agreements, traveled secretly several times to Saudi Arabia, according to the newspaper, where he met Prince Mohammed bin Salman and visited the home of Prince Khaled, who is the deputy defense minister.
And Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said last week that he believed that “it is possible that there will be a process of normalization with Saudi Arabia,” stressing that “this is in our interest.”
The newspaper quoted an unnamed Saudi official as saying, “If Hamas is building a relationship with Iran to protect itself, why don’t we have a relationship with Israel once morest Iran to protect ourselves?”
The American position
The newspaper says that it is possible that the improvement of Saudi-Israeli relations might help President Biden to strengthen the tense relations between Washington and Riyadh.
The prospect of Biden meeting Prince Mohammed bin Salman has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers in Washington and human rights groups who want the president to take stronger steps to defend human rights in Saudi Arabia.
The newspaper quoted David Makovsky, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, as saying that “Israel wants normalization with Saudi Arabia, and the kingdom wants normalization with the Biden administration.”
The newspaper said that US officials have warned Saudi Arabia that it risks losing economic and security deals to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, two countries that are moving quickly to benefit from their new relations with Israel.
Washington views Saudi Arabia as a potential source of compensation for Russian oil, which was withheld or will be withheld by sanctions from Europe following the invasion of Ukraine.
Also, Iran, and the faltering in its nuclear agreement, gives Saudi Arabia more impetus in the American administration.
newspaper quotes The Jerusalem Post, Israel Joseph Westphal, the former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said that he conveyed a message from King Salman bin Abdulaziz to the US president, Donald Trump, when he was elected, in which he said that Saudi Arabia “believes in Israel’s right to exist, and believes that it is important to work for a Palestinian state.” “.
The Israeli newspaper quoted David Ottaway, a fellow at the Wilson Center, as saying that “the Iranian deal does not look like it will happen, and it appears that Tehran is moving forward with the nuclear program,” adding, “In this case, Saudi Arabia is of particular importance due to its geographical location and its commitment to trying to contain Iranian expansion in the world.” Arabi”.
The United States is also trying to secure a deal that would give Saudi Arabia full security control of two Red Sea islands – Tiran and Sanafir – that would require Israel’s approval.
The islands, strategically located between the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea, are at the center of a decades-old territorial dispute between Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and currently host an international force that provides security.
The three countries are now considering a proposal to move the multinational force from the islands and allow Saudi Arabia to control security at both locations, according to people involved in the talks.
The agreement is seen as another way for Israel and Saudi Arabia to show that they are improving relations, according to the newspaper.
