Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in interviews with US-based media outlet CNN on Friday following his speech at the UN General Assembly. His appearances distinctly identified agreements in the works for diplomatic ties to be formalized between Israel and its neighbor, Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that ties with Saudi Arabia would be deemed a “quantum leap” that would “change the Middle East forever.” The ties would ease tensions and create “a corridor of energy pipelines, rail lines, fiber optic cables, between Asia through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates.”
When asked if ties were possible, Netanyahu responded by saying “I believe it’s likely. Israel, the United States, and Saudi Arabia share a common goal… to change history.”
Declining to comment on concessions for Palestinians in potential Saudi deal
Collins pressed the Prime Minister on what concessions would need to be made for the Palestinians in order to move forward with a Saudi deal, but Netanyahu declined to comment stating that concessions would not need to be made if the Palestinian people can benefit from it. He added that if a relationship is formed between Israel and Saudi Arabia, much like ties between Israel and other Arab nations coming to a solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict would help dissolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
He declined to discuss any necessary concessions to be made with the Palestinians in order to establish the relationship.
“The Palestinians must be part of the process, but they must not have a veto on the process. The reason we did not have a new peace agreement for 25 years was because they said that first an agreement should be concluded with the Palestinians. But they do not want a state alongside Israel, but a state instead of Israel. I will consider ways in which they can benefit from the process without jeopardizing our security needs,” he added.
Collins asked Netanyahu about his coalition’s feelings about the proposed ties. “People do not understand how my system works. They are the ones who joined me, I didn’t join them,” he stated matter-of-factly, ultimately deeming that the coalition will go with his decision. Even regarding instances of officials such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying that no concessions will be made toward Palestinians, Netanyahu characterized this saying, “they’re just talking.”
“They talk and talk, they are politicians,” he said.
“Would you be willing to blow up your coalition, essentially, to get this deal with Saudi done?”Prime Minister Netanyahu: “I don’t think it’ll require that.”“You think they’ll go along with it?”Netanyahu: “It’s whether I go along with it.” pic.twitter.com/BCzRQ4MD3T
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 23, 2023
When asked if he was “willing to blow up [his] coalition to get this deal with Saudi done,” he responded, “I don’t think it’ll require that.”
Collins asked if they would go along with the deal, to which Netanyahu responded, “It’s whether I go along with it.”
He later mocked critics who refer to him as a wannabe-dictator, and elaborated on the likelihood of reaching an agreement with their Arab neighbor.
“When there are three leaders – Biden, Bin Salman, and I – who want to reach results, it increases the chances that we will succeed in doing so.”
Netanyahu added that it is possible to reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia, but added that the window of opportunity to reach the agreement is quite narrow.
“If we don’t achieve this in the coming months – then the agreement will be postponed for several years,” he said.
Netanyahu also addressed the criticism of his impact on Israeli democracy and was asked whether he would respect the decisions of the High Court of Justice, though he narrowly declined to answer directly.
“We have always acted according to the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court has always acted in accordance with the legislation,” Netanyahu said. “I hope that the commitment between the two will continue.”
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