2023-09-21 11:01:14
The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, stated on Wednesday during an interview that the normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel is “closer” every day, statements that have been endorsed by both the government of Israel and Washington and that have been described by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi as “a stab in the back to the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance.”
This historic agreement, brokered by the United States, could come into effect early next year and would dramatically change the balances of power in the Middle East by formally bringing together two important US partners vis-à-vis Iran.
Biden has expressed optimism about the outlook in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN general assembly on Wednesday. On the other hand, the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, said that “every day we get closer” to an agreement in an interview with the conservative network Fox News, in which he denied that the talks have been interrupted, as reported the Saudi newspaper Elaph, based in London. In fact, Bin Salman, who is seen as the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, said there have been “good negotiations” so far.
The prince explained that the kingdom is seeking progress on Palestinian rights, at a time when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, considered the most right-wing in Israel’s history, continues its policy of legalizing Israeli settlements in the West Bank. busy.
“We are having good negotiations, but we must see where we are going. We hope to reach a point where it improves the lives of Palestinians and allows Israel to play a role in the Middle East,” Bin Salman said.
The United States is pushing for a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia that could have a major impact on the region and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
However, reaching an agreement looks like fitting the pieces into a Rubik’s cube. Saudi Arabia is considering normalizing relations with Israel in exchange for a defense pact with the US and help developing its own civil nuclear program. At the same time, Riyadh has made clear that any agreement would require significant progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state.
Riyadh’s pursuit of a civilian nuclear program tests US and Israeli policy. And calls from Saudi Arabia and the United States for the Palestinians to make progress under any deal are unpalatable to Netanyahu’s far-right government.
“The gaps can be bridged,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Israel Army Radio. “It will take time, but there is progress.” “I think there’s certainly a chance that in the first quarter of 2024, four or five months from now, we can get to a point where the details are finalized,” he added.
The announcement of a close agreement has been harshly criticized by the Iranian regime, which has historically championed its opposition to the existence of the state of Israel and which in recent months has normalized relations with one of its main regional rivals, Saudi Arabia. Despite denying any knowledge that Riyadh is close to signing such an agreement with the Israelis, President Raisi stated in a press conference that “the beginning of relations between the Zionist regime [término que utilizan para referirse a Israel] and any country in the region, if it intends to provide security to the Zionist regime, will definitely not succeed.”
If the agreement occurs at the beginning of 2024, the calendar could allow the Biden administration to overcome the review period in the United States Congress and Senate and achieve ratification before the November presidential elections, which would allow them to score a point enormous in foreign policy.
Israel normalized relations with several countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, during the Donald Trump Administration (2017-2021), in what became known as the “Abraham Accords”, but normalizing relations Relations with Saudi Arabia would be considered a historic step in Middle East diplomacy.
Saudi Arabia has an incomparable geopolitical weight: in 1973 the kingdom led the oil embargo against the countries that had supported Israel during the Yom Kippur War and, in addition, promoted the Arab Peace Initiative, signed by the members of the Arab League. in 2002.
Furthermore, the Saudi monarch, Salman bin Abdulaziz, is a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause and has assumed the role of guardian of the two sacred mosques in Mecca and Medina, the most important places for Muslims, followed by the Esplanade of the Mosques in East Jerusalem, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
An understanding between Israel and the Saudi kingdom would revolutionize the game board in the region and could motivate other Arab nations to follow the same path. There are analysts who predict that its consequences could be compared to those of the Camp David Accords (1978) between Egypt and Israel.
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