Israeli official: The Israeli-Saudi normalization deal might take place after the US presidential Elections
An Israeli official said that it’s possible to conclude a normalization agreement between his country and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within a specific period of time, but he ruled out achieving this before the US presidential elections.
The Israeli official said the agreement is likely to be reached between November 2024 and January 2025, according to statements he made to Times of Israel newspaper, last Thursday.
The Israeli official pointed out that completing the bilateral security agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia, which Riyadh seeks to conclude in conjunction with normalization, will be very difficult before the US presidential elections.
He added that after the elections, it will be easier for both parties in Congress to pass the agreement, considering that US President Joe Biden will have the support of the Democratic majority, while the Republicans will support the agreement due to its connection to normalization.
This Israeli official’s statements contradict what another senior Israeli official said last July, when he confirmed that there was a possibility of concluding a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia before the upcoming US elections in November.
US President Joe Biden said in an interview on July 15 that Saudi Arabia was seeking to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for security guarantees from the United States.
In return, Riyadh stressed that it wouldn’t normalize relations with Israel unless it agreed to the establishment of a future Palestinian state, a condition that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically rejected.
Although normalization talks gained momentum during 2023, they stalled as a result of the war in Gaza.
It’s worth noting that the Israeli Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, visited Saudi Arabia last October, just four days before the Hamas attack, after an official visit by the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Haim Katz, to Saudi Arabia, which was the first visit of its kind.
