The United States and Saudi Arabia are “days away” from concluding a potentially historic bilateral deal that has long been a top priority for President Joe Biden as it would begin a parallel path to normalizing relations between the Kingdom and Israel, he said a source very familiar with the matter told CBS News at CBS News. sunday
A U.S. official confirmed that much progress was made Saturday in a meeting between National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, a city in the far east of the kingdom that it hosts its state oil giant. the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. known as Saudi Aramco.
In a statement released late Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry described the draft agreement as “almost final.”
The first component of the agreement includes a series of agreements between the US and Saudi Arabia, including defense guarantees and civil nuclear cooperation. The Biden administration would consolidate its ties with Saudi Arabia at a time when rival China is trying to expand its influence in the Middle East.
A second component would normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but that depends on a complicated and aspirational third component that would forge a path to a Palestinian state.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently described this part of the vision as requiring both “calm in Gaza” and a “credible path to a Palestinian state.” Sullivan, who arrived in the region on Saturday, and other Biden officials also traveled to Israel on Sunday and are expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the proposed deal.
A source very familiar with the Kingdom's position told CBS that Saudi Arabia has made it clear that nothing can move forward without a two-state solution that includes self-rule in both the West Bank and Gaza. Ignoring the Palestinian issue is almost impossible now because of the widespread outcry in the Arab world over the immense humanitarian cost of Palestinians in Gaza since Israel invaded the 25-mile territory in pursuit of Hamas terrorists who killed 1,200 people in October 7
Since then, Biden has often cited his belief that Hamas launched that brutal attack to stall its early attempts to forge a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal that would not have prioritized the Palestinians.
Given Netanyahu's stated opposition to a Palestinian state, it is unclear what he will agree to, but the domestic political crisis in Israel is increasing the pressure on him. Two of the three unity war cabinet ministers have publicly questioned Netanyahu's Gaza strategy in the past week and minister Benny Gantz threatened to resign on June 8 if key decisions are not made. In recent days, Gantz has also been talking to Sullivan about the Saudi deal, according to a spokesman.
Biden administration officials hope Netanyahu will see the important security and diplomatic victory of normalization with Saudi Arabia as an opportunity and a reason to compromise on Palestinian issues despite the danger of alienating members of the right whose support is essential for the survival of their fragile coalition government.
Some of these right-wing nationalist ministers seek Israeli settlement and control of the Palestinian-majority West Bank and Gaza, and refer to them in biblical terms as Judea and Samaria.
There are also domestic complications in the U.S. The well-informed source acknowledged to CBS News that “there is pressure” to complete the deal, given that there are only a few weeks left on the congressional calendar and a deal should be reached of security. legislators for approval. The presumption has been that Democrats were skeptical of the Kingdom over its human rights abuses and that Prince Mohammad would be more likely to greenlight the deal and its nuclear component if a Democratic president asked.
Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham, a Trump ally, has also been traveling to the region and pushing for this diplomatic deal that builds on the architecture of the Trump-era Abraham Accords, which helped normalize relations between Israel and many of its regional neighbors, but no. Saudi Arabia While Trump could theoretically also pursue a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia if he wins the November general election, he may have a harder time persuading Democrats to vote for him. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has often touted his legacy in the region.
Margaret Brennan
