Washington, Oct 10: Less than three weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat beside President Joe Biden and marvelled that a “historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia” seemed within reach – a diplomatic advance that he predicted could lead to lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Biden was equally optimistic, telling Netanyahu during their meeting in New York, “If you and I – 10 years ago – were talking about normalisation with Saudi Arabia, I think we’d look at each other like, Who’s been drinking what?'” Now, the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinians after a devastating Hamas attack on Israeli soil is threatening to delay or derail the yearslong, country-by-country diplomatic push by the United States to improve relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
The so-called normalisation push, which began under former President Donald Trump’s administration and was branded as the Abraham Accords, is an ambitious effort to reshape the region and boost Israel’s standing in historic ways.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Hamas attacks may have been driven in part by a desire to scuttle the United States’ most ambitious part of the initiative: the sealing of diplomatic relations between rivals Israel and Saudi Arabia. Notably, several Arab nations including Saudi Arabia are putting their weight behind Palestine. Though the Middle East’s two greatest powers share a common enemy in Iran, a generous military and financial sponsor of Hamas.
Such a pact between Jerusalem and Riyadh would be a legacy-defining achievement for Biden, Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It’s one that could pave the way for even more Arab and Muslim-majority nations to abandon their rejection of Israel since its 1948 founding in lands long inhabited by Palestinians. Under Trump, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco all signed on to normalisation agreements with Israel. (AP)
