Trump, Netanyahu set to announce progress on Saudi-Israeli normalization: Report

A potential normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia is moving forward, US President Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to announce after their meeting in Washington, DC.  

According to a report by the Israeli daily Haaretz published on Sunday, a potential deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia was high on the agenda of Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump at the White House this week, adding that the two officials are set to announce progress on the agreement.  

The report went on to say that the Trump administration wants to move fast on it and therefore, it is considering several conditions to fall into place to make this deal viable, including holding the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

US senators express concern over Saudi security demands for possible normalization with Israel

Nearly two dozen US Senators express concern over the security guarantees Saudi Arabia is reportedly demanding from Washington in exchange for normalizing ties with Israel.

The deal would produce economic benefits for the US and some speculate that Trump’s repeated mention of relocating Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan may be a negotiation tactic, allowing Saudi Arabia to later claim it successfully blocked such plans.

Back in 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco entered US-brokered rapprochement deals with the Israeli regime.

Washington has also reportedly been trying to add Riyadh to the list in a bid to bolster regional support for Tel Aviv, its most cherished ally.

In July 2023, the administration of former US President Joe Biden announced that a deal for the regime and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations might be on the horizon following National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s talks with Saudi officials in the kingdom’s port city of Jeddah.

To sign a deal with Israel, Riyadh publicly asked Tel Aviv to implement the 2002 so-called Arab Peace Initiative, conditioning normalizing ties with Israel on the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.

However, members of the far-right Israeli regime, led by Netanyahu, say they will not make any concession to the Palestinians as part of a potential deal for normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia.

Blinken claims Saudi-Israel normalization still possible

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claims that a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel is still possible before President Joe Biden exits the White House in January next year.

At the time, reports emerged of an agreement on the general outline of an Israeli-Saudi normalization pact.

Under the deal, Riyadh would secure American backing for a civilian nuclear program, as well as access to advanced weapons. In exchange, the kingdom would take major steps to distance itself from China and Israel would allow an independent Palestinian state.

In September, though, the kingdom was reported to have informed the United States of its decision to suspend all negotiations on the potential rapprochement due allegedly to the Israeli cabinet’s unwillingness to make any concessions to the Palestinians.

A month later, following the onset of the regime’s yet-ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, the Reuters news agency also reported that Riyadh was “putting US-backed plans to normalize ties with Israel on ice.”

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