The U.S. secretary of state said after the meeting that the leader of Saudi Arabia told him that establishing diplomatic recognition between the Kingdom and Israel was still possible. Still, it required an end to the war in Gaza and practical steps toward a Palestinian state.
“There’s a clear interest here in pursuing that,” Blinken said after meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia. “There’s a clear interest in the region in pursuing that.”
After the meeting with Bin Salman in the city of Al-Ula, Blinken clarified: “We consulted on the issue of normalizing relations in all regional countries, including Saudi Arabia. Great importance is given to this issue, but this requires an end to the war in Gaza and the establishment of a practical process for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
At the same time, the Saudi Crown Prince has also conveyed a message to Netanyahu through Blinken stating that the normalization of relations with the Zionist regime and participation in the reconstruction of Gaza is conditional on “acceptance of a two-state solution” by Tel Aviv.
These statements are made while one of the senior officials of the US administration said at the end of last December: Our negotiations with the Saudis in recent weeks show that they still want to move forward on the normalization issue.
In addition, Britt McGeorge, one of the high-ranking officials in the White House, has recently presented a 90-day reconstruction plan for Gaza as part of a comprehensive plan that includes a compromise between the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia.
Regarding the US Administration’s efforts to restore the normalization of relations between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, it is important to pay attention to the following points:
One; Normalization is a Western-Hebrew “project” that is basically aimed at serving the interests of America, Europe and the Zionist regime. Although in the short term, this project can have few economic, commercial, etc. opportunities for the Arab governments that enter the said project, in the “long term,” it will face strategic threats to the interests and “national security” of these countries. Because, firstly, it is a “tool” to ensure the security and survival of the Zionist regime; secondly, it is contrary to the Arab public opinion and will damage their social, religious, and cultural infrastructures.
This is even though normalization is a “one-sided” process, and there is no guarantee that the United States and the Zionist regime would fulfill their commitments to Riyadh and other Arab governments. More than three years have passed since the signing of the normalization agreement with the UAE; the United States and the Zionist regime still have not fulfilled most of the commitments they gave to the UAE!
There is a point of view in Tel Aviv and Washington that believes that any security and military guarantees to countries that intend to normalize relations with Tel Aviv can be considered a potential threat to the existence and security of this regime!
Two; Considering that the United States plays an important role in the war waged by the Zionist regime in Gaza and has a strong presence in the processes of decision-making, decision-taking, design and implementation of operations, therefore the White House is using this war as an opportunity to advance its regional policies.
The United States pursues specific and “deceptive” goals from normalizing Arab relations, especially Saudi Arabia, with the Zionist regime, which has been largely comatose since the start of the Al-Aqsa Storm operation. Biden’s “electoral exploits” in the upcoming elections, as well as “creating a breathing space for the Zionists” in a situation where this regime is in the worst juncture of its life and the United States is still committed to ensuring its security and survival, are key goals in this field.
In fact, the Biden administration seeks to reduce the heavy burden of criticism from various circles, especially Republicans, who believe that Biden has not been able to ensure Israel’s security optimally by normalizing Riyadh-Tel Aviv relations.
Three; Despite the efforts of the Biden administration to restore the normalization of relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv, this issue is facing serious and important “obstacles”. First of all, the Al-Aqsa operation has put the Zionist regime in a strategic dilemma; in the words of “Dennis Ross”, a veteran US negotiator in regional affairs who visited the Occupied Territories last December, “Israel’s body politic is currently unable to do this.”
Secondly, Netanyahu’s hard-line and right-wing cabinet strongly opposes Riyadh’s main precondition for normalizing relations with the Zionist regime, which is the formation of an independent Palestinian state and the cessation of settlement construction in the West Bank and will never give in.
And most importantly, the majority of Saudi public opinion is against any relationship with the Zionist regime. For example, a new survey by the “Washington Institute for the Near East” shows that 96 percent of Saudis believe that Arab countries should cut all ties with the Zionist regime. 87% of Saudis also say that the Gaza war has shown that Israel is so weak and vulnerable from within that it could be defeated in one way or another.
Despite such a view in the public opinion of Saudi Arabia, it is natural that ignoring the opinion of the people regarding an issue opposed by the majority of the society can face the Saudi court with “internal threats.”
Final Point; The dimensions and strategic consequences of the Al-Aqsa Storm operation in the security, military, political, economic, social and demographic fields clearly showed that the relationship with a regime that has become so weak and fragile is a “strategic mistake”.
In this regard, the question arises as to the relationship with a regime with all its claims and modern military and security equipment and a powerful army and all-round international and even regional support, in front of a small Palestinian group with not very strong weapons in Gaza (which from the ground and the sea and the air have been under siege for years) it is landlocked and is in its worst security, military and political situation in the last 75 years. Its economy is on the verge of collapse. What is the “profit” for some Arab governments?!
What is quite clear is that Biden seeks to “sacrifice” Riyadh as the “hub” of Arab governments for his electoral interests and to save the Zionist regime from the swamp of Al-Aqsa Storm.
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