The White House has recently been formulating a “roadmap” for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia as part of preparations for President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East in mid-July, Walla! Four American sources involved in the matter.
why is it important
President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia next month is intended to symbolize the fact that the Biden administration is trying to warm up relations between Israel and the Arab world after the Abrahamic agreements reached through the Trump administration and led to peace and normalization agreements between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco.
In the news
Last week, White House officials gave a closed briefing to experts from research institutes in Washington and mentioned the term “roadmap for normalization” without going into details. White House officials clarified at the briefing that no agreement would be reached on the issue until Biden’s visit to the region but made it clear that they were continuing to work on it and that President Biden would raise the issue in his talks in Israel and Saudi Arabia.
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What are they saying
- The White House believes that any “roadmap” for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia will take time and be part of a long-term date. An American source with details said that “the White House’s strategy is one of gradual step-by-step progress.”
- A spokesman for the White House National Security Council said that “the United States supports the expansion and deepening of relations between Israel and the Arab states.”
- A senior Israeli official said he did not foresee a significant breakthrough towards normalization with Saudi Arabia during a visit to Biden, but stressed that during the visit a Saudi agreement would most likely be reached to allow Israeli airlines to fly through Saudi airspace on flights to India, Thailand and China.
- In an interview with Atlantic magazine last March, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said his country does not see Israel as an enemy state, but a potential ally with which it has many common interests. “But there are some issues that need to be resolved first so that we can get to that,” Ben Salman said, alluding to the Palestinian issue.
reminder
- On May 24 it was unveiled at Walla! Because the United States is in secret negotiations between Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt on a potential deal to complete the transfer of the two strategic islands in the Red Sea – Tiran and Sanfir – to Saudi control.
- If an agreement is reached it may also include Saudi normalization measures towards Israel such as authorizing Israeli planes to pass through Saudi airspace or conducting direct flights to Saudi Arabia for Israeli Muslim pilgrims.
between the lines
An American source close to White House plans said he believes the reason the White House is talking about a “roadmap for normalization” is to lower expectations about what can be achieved at the current stage and what to do and focus on starting a process.
The big picture
- During his visit to the Middle East, the White House wants Biden to discuss “integration of missile defense and naval defense systems” between the United States, Israel and Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Walla! Four American sources involved in the matter.
- Defense Minister Bnei Gantz told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that the United States and Israel are working on an initiative called “Air Defense in the Middle East” and noted that during his visit to the Biden area he will give a boost to this initiative.
- Ganz said the initiative focuses on cooperation between the U.S. military Central Command and countries in the region against drone strikes, cruise missiles and rockets by Iran and terrorist organizations supported by it.
- A senior Israeli official said the idea was to create a regional network of radars, sensors and air defense systems that would be connected to provide early warning and intercept such attacks.
- Ganz said that cooperation between Israel, the United States and countries in the region had already succeeded in thwarting Iranian attacks of this kind. A senior Israeli official said one such attack was by Iranian UAVs located by Israel and shot down by the U.S. military over Iraq last year.
- The White House sees the issue of integrating missile defense systems as a long-term vision at this stage and does not intend to make any announcements on this issue during Biden’s visit to the region, according to a source close to the matter.
Worth noting
The political crisis in Israel and the holding of new elections may change the calculations of the Saudis and other countries in the region in terms of immediate normalization measures. These countries may want to wait and see which government will be formed in Jerusalem after the election.