Arab Israeli Normalization of ties could harm the region
American and Israeli officials have sought for months to add Saudi Arabia to the list of Arab countries that have signed the Abraham Accords, however, the KSA has made it clear it will not normalize relations with Israel until Palestinians are granted statehood.
US President, Joe Biden, declared on July 28th that a deal for Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations may be on the horizon following National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan's talks with Saudi officials in Jeddah earlier in the week.
Talking to donors for his 2024 reelection campaign at an event on Friday, Biden claimed rapprochement may be underway without giving any additional details.
The 2020 agreement saw the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and, Sudan, normalize relations with Israel and become major importers of Israeli weapons.
Annual Israeli arms sales reached a new record in 2022, totaling $12.5 billion. That's up from $11.4 million in 2021. An Israeli official said there had been a significant demand for Israeli weapons by Arab nations that recently normalized ties with Israel.
The Saudis have resisted normalizing relations with Israel and have, instead, signed a normalization agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran in Beijing brokered talks in March.
In order to sign a deal with Israel, Riyadh publicly asked Tel Aviv to implement the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative to establish a Palestinian state first.
However, members of the far right Israeli regime, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, say they will not make any concession to the Palestinians as part of a potential deal for normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia.
According to US officials, the Saudis are privately asking that the US pledge to guarantee the kingdom's security in the event of an attack, provide access to civilian nuclear technology, as well as more advanced US weapons systems.
Meanwhile, Washington has been pursuing indirect talks with Iran over its peaceful nuclear program and the removal of anti Iran sanctions.
Washington has expressed worries about reestablishment of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as Tehran's growing influence and alliances across West Asia and beyond.
Iran has warned regional countries against normalizing relations with Israel saying such a deal would harm regional peace and stability.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, said on Monday that strengthening and solidifying the position of the usurping Israeli regime in the region has been a top priority for US governments for years.
Despite efforts by the United States to improve relations between Israel and certain regional governments, Kanaani emphasized that, in practice, Israel continues to perpetrate crimes against the Palestinian people, adding that during the first six months of the current year approximately 200 Palestinians had been killed and over 3000 were arrested and detained.
Palestinian homes were widely destroyed, the Al Aqsa mosque was desecrated, and settlements were expanded in areas that belong to Palestine based on peace agreements.
Support for the controversial normalization deals with Israel has plummeted among the Persian Gulf Arab states, according to opinion polls commissioned by a US based think tank.
According to a poll conducted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, only 27% of respondents in the United Arab Emirates, and 20% in Bahrain, view the accords as positive for the region.
However, the figures were 47% in the UAE and 45% in Bahrain, in 2020, when the so called Abraham accords were hailed as part of a process that, purportedly, sought to push Israel to work on its multi decade long conflict with the Palestinians.
In Saudi Arabia, which has not normalized its relations with Israel despite a push by Washington, support for the accords also fell by half to 20%.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan made it clear that the kingdom will not normalize relations with Israel until Palestinians are granted statehood.
Saudi Arabia seems to be reluctant about normalization with Israel and is taking a cautious approach to any public steps that could be misconstrued as a sign of, or prelude to, normalization.
At a critical time when Biden is seeking reelection, the US government has been left embarrassed by Saudi Arabia's bolstering of ties with Iran and Syria, and its further gravitation toward China.
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