Biden: Hamas attack aimed to disrupt the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel

US President Joe Biden said that the attack carried out by the Palestinian Hamas movement on October 7 on Israel, which led to the death of about 1,400 people, was aimed at obstructing a possible normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Biden indicated in statements he made during a fundraising event for his election campaign that Saudi Arabia wanted to recognize Israel.

Saudi Arabia gave its blessing to its neighbors, the Emirates and Bahrain, to establish relations with Israel in 2020 during the administration of former US President Donald Trump.

However, Riyadh didn’t follow suit and said that the goals of a Palestinian state should be addressed first.

Biden added, “One of the reasons Hamas moved toward Israel is because they knew I was about to sit down with the Saudis”.

He continued, “Guess why? The Saudis wanted to recognize Israel”.

The potential normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries was a top priority for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Riyadh in June, although he acknowledged that no imminent progress should be expected.

Blinken told CNN on October 8, “It wouldn’t be surprising if one of the motives for the Hamas attack was to disrupt efforts to bring Saudi Arabia and Israel together”.

The US President also said that he wants Israel to postpone its possible ground invasion of the Gaza Strip until more hostages are released.

This came in response to a question posed by a journalist in this regard.