As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump meet later today, among many topics of discussion should be one that could change the face of the Middle East: Saudi Arabia. The possibility of a historic accord between the kingdom and the Jewish state under the dynamic leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has never been more promising.
For decades, Saudi Arabia, which has refused to recognize Israel since 1948, championed a rejectionist stance toward the Jewish state, aligning with the broader sentiment of Arab unity against Zionism.
Despite this official posture, quiet cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Israel has existed for years, particularly as both nations share a common adversary in Iran. Intelligence sharing and tacit coordination have grown, driven by shared concerns over Tehran’s regional ambitions and nuclear program.
There were whispers post-Abraham Accords that Saudi Arabia would be next to formalize ties with Israel, but October 7 put paid to that idea. Now, the timing could be ripe to push for Saudi-Israel relations and dent a further blow to Iran and its proxies across the region.
Israel is “closer than ever” to normalization with the Saudis, Israel’s newly appointed ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter revealed in an exclusive interview last week with The Jerusalem Post. The development will be a “game changer for the region and beyond,” he said.
The ambassador described normalization with Riyadh as part of a broader strategic realignment following the decline of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies. “We’re closer to Saudi Arabia because we’ve degraded Hamas,” he said. “The fall of [former Syrian leader Bashar al-]Assad and the weakening of Iran’s influence have brought us to a moment of opportunity.”
A critical crossroad
The fall of Assad is also a critical juncture for the post-October 7 Middle East. Long an Iran bastion sitting on Israel’s borders, Assad’s fall and the rise of Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Shaara has also changed the region’s landscape. Al-Shaara met with MBS in Riyadh on Sunday in his first foreign trip as Syrian leader.
The potential benefits of any Saudi deal could hold the key to redefining the Arab-Israeli conflict and finally creating a solution to the Palestinian issue that has dogged Israel for seven decades.
MBS’s leadership has already redrawn the Middle East’s balance of power, allowing Saudi Arabia to surpass Egypt as the dominant Arab voice. His pragmatic approach to foreign policy has signaled that Riyadh is no longer beholden to outdated and medieval ideological battles and is instead attempting to chart a new course toward modernization.
Netanyahu, known for his ability to seize geopolitical opportunities, understands that this historic moment must not be wasted. With the US actively backing normalization efforts, the window for achieving a deal has never been wider.
Any deal could also force the Palestinians to return to negotiations rather than rely on continued international condemnation of Israel as their only strategy. By making the Saudis an active player in the peace process, Israel gains an Arab partner that has real influence over Palestinian decision-making – something the UAE and Bahrain, despite their Abraham Accords agreements, could never achieve alone.
Of course, a deal like this will not be without opposition. Some hardline factions in Israel will oppose any concessions to the Palestinians, while elements within Saudi Arabia’s conservative religious establishment may resist official ties with the Jewish state.
The Palestinians themselves may reject what they view as an Arab betrayal but the reality is that the Arab world has moved on from the failed attempts at peace. Nations like Saudi Arabia are no longer willing to hold their own national interests hostage in the name of a Palestinian leadership that has repeatedly rejected and squandered past opportunities.
If Bibi and MBS are serious, they must find a way to navigate these challenges and act swiftly, before regional tensions or political instability derail progress.
The moment for a Saudi-Israeli deal is now. The world has changed.
MBS has already redefined Saudi Arabia’s role on the global stage, and Israel has proven that peace with the Arab world is no longer a fantasy. The Abraham Accords laid the foundation, but a Saudi-Israeli deal would be the crown jewel of Middle Eastern diplomacy.
The opportunity is here. The only question is: Will they seize it?
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