A normalization announcement between Israel and Saudi Arabia will most likely happen following the end of the US presidential elections, Mossad director Yossi Cohen said, N12 reported in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning.The reason for the expected date, Cohen explained, is due to Riyadh’s desire to present the normalization as a “gift” of sorts to either US President Donald Trump or his Democratic rival Joe Biden, depending on the outcome of the elections.”They seem to be waiting for the US election, to give a ‘gift’ to the president-elect,” he explained, according to N12.The normalization deal will also reportedly involve an arms deal between the US and Saudi Arabia, which could serve to cushion the move, Cohen said.Normalized ties is something many in Israel and Saudi Arabia look forward to, with a recent poll by Zogby Research Services finding that nearly 80% of Saudis are in favor of working towards normalizing ties with Israel within the next five years. This was reflective of another poll published by Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, which saw Saudi Arabia as the country most Israelis would like to next establish normalized ties.In addition, it was also reported by N12 citing Israeli sources that US-mediated normalization talks between the Jewish state and Oman are close to achieving a breakthrough. In fact, these sources believe Oman is the most likely country to next normalize ties, though some believe Muscat will take a more cautious approach and not sign anything until the election is over.These announcements follow the ongoing wave of full relations being established between Israel and countries in the Arab world, with Sudan recently announcing a move towards normalization. Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.
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