Lapid: Israel working with US, Persian Gulf states on normalization with Saudi Arabia

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid says the Tel Aviv regime is coordinating with the United States and Persian Gulf nations on a process to normalize and establish full diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia.

“We believe that it is possible to have a normalization process with Saudi Arabia. It’s in our interest,” Lapid told Army Radio on Monday.

“We’ve already said that this is the next step after the [so-called] Abraham Accords to talk about a long and careful process,” he added, referring to the 2020 normalization deals that Israel reached with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan under former US president Donald Trump.

Lapid warned that the process of normalization with Saudi Arabia would be a lengthy one with progress coming in small steps, asserting that both sides have security interests at stake.

“This won’t happen the same way it did last time,” Lapid said. “We won’t wake up one morning suddenly and it will be a surprise.”

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“It could be that three foreign ministers after me, someone will be standing on the podium and will celebrate this — which is completely fine,” the top Israeli diplomat added.

His comments came as a high-ranking Israeli official reportedly visited Saudi Arabia and met with a senior Saudi official last week, fueling speculation that the two sides could be taking reciprocal steps toward the “normalization” of their relations.

Israeli media outlets reported on Friday that the unnamed official traveled to the Saudi capital and met a senior Saudi figure inside the royal palace.

Hebrew-language Channel 12 television network described the visit as a sign that relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv are “warming up.”

According to the channel, the visit was meant to coordinate security cooperation between the two sides, among other things.

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Last month, former head of the Israeli military intelligence General Amos Yadlin called for the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia in the wake of the increasing security challenges facing the Tel Aviv regime.

In an article published on the website of Israel’s Channel 12, Yadlin stressed that obstacles to normalization of ties between the occupying regime and the oil-rich kingdom must be overcome as Israel is facing serious security challenges, both internally and externally, especially in the face of growing Iranian influence in the Middle East region.

He said the signing of a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia “would consolidate Israel's position in the region, and would push the United States to toughen stance on Iran as regards its nuclear program and regional clout.”

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Even though Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have formal diplomatic relations, Riyadh has taken a number of steps recently toward normalizing relations with the Tel Aviv regime.

Saudi authorities were said to have given a behind-the-scenes green light to the UAE forging ties with Israel in 2020 and have since allowed Israeli aircraft to use the kingdom’s airspace for direct flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. 

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