US President Joe Biden is mulling a mutual security pact with Saudi Arabia that would involve the kingdom normalizing ties with Israel, New York Times‘s Thomas Friedman wrote citing the US president himself.
According to Friedman, the suggested security pact and subsequent normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia are subject to concessions made by Israel on preserving the possibility of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
While Biden is still undecided over whether to pursue the pact, he had given the order to explore the possibility of an understanding between the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians, NYT said.
The call to explore a deal was made following discussions with top White House officials including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Brett McGurk, the coordinator for the Middle East and North African affairs.
Netanyahu: Israel, US working on Saudi peace deal
In an interview given to ABC on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel and the United States are working on a peace deal with the Saudis.
Flags of Saudi Arabia and Israel stand together in a kitchen staging area as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds meetings at the State Department in Washington, US, October 14, 2021. (credit: JONATHAN ERNST/POOL/REUTERS)Israel and the US “are working on things that will change history, specifically, we are trying to block Iran’s aggression and advance peace with Saudi Arabia,” Netanyahu said.
“This will change the world. This will be a pivot of history,” he said, adding that “the relations with the US are as strong as ever.
This is a developing story. Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
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