In a rare interview with the Saudi state-owned Al-Arabiya news channel, the Israeli newly-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed vows to normalise ties with Saudi Arabia once he takes office.
I think we can have a new peace initiative that will form a quantum leap for the achievement for the resolution of both the Arab-Israeli conflict and ultimately, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. And of course, I’m referring to what could be a truly remarkable historic peace with Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu told Al-Arabiya.
According to the Associated Press, Netanyahu’s comments appeared to be aimed at easing concerns over the far-right makeup of the government that he is forming.
Netanyahu told the Saudi channel that he will set overall policies.
“I will govern and I will lead,” he said. “The other parties are joining me. I’m not joining them.”
Netanyahu said he hoped to expand the Abraham Accords — a set of normalization agreements reached with four Arab countries in 2020 — by reaching a similar deal with Saudi Arabia.
“It will be a quantum leap for an overall peace between Israel and the Arab world,” he said. “It will change our region in ways that are unimaginable. And I think it will facilitate, ultimately, a Palestinian-Israel peace. I believe in that. I intend to pursue it.”
“Of course, it’s up to the leadership of Saudi Arabia if they want to partake in this effort,” he added. “I certainly hope they would.”
MBS: The Godfather of Normalization
Along the same line, Reuters Agency pointed out that Israel’s Netanyahu urged US to reaffirm commitment to Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu urged key ally the United States to reaffirm its commitment to Saudi Arabia and pledged to pursue formal Israeli ties with Riyadh for a “quantum leap” in peace, Reuters reported.
An accord with Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, would be a “quantum leap for an overall peace between Israel and the Arab world” and ultimately facilitate Palestinian-Israeli peace, Netanyahu said.
Earlier last month, Netanyahu said in an interview with CNN that Saudi Arabia is heading towards normalization and Ibrahim’s agreements did not happen without Riyadh’s approval.
Netanyahu said: “The first thing you have to admit is that Saudi Arabia has already started a gradual process of normalization, because in 2018, before the Ibrahim agreement in 2020, the Saudis they opened Saudi airspace to hundreds of thousands of Israelis who were able to fly into the Gulf states and now beyond the Gulf states. It was a well-considered decision. “
Saudi Normalization Likely within a Year
Israeli Likud MK Danny Danon earlier said that he expects to “see an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia in the coming year.”
Danon, a former envoy to the UN, told The Times of Israel that his assessment is “based on conversations and talks” he has had recently, but would not refer to a specific effort underway.
Netanyahu Eyes Glory in Saudi Arabia
Haaretz Hebrew newspaper also dealt with the news, saying that despite ‘creeping normalization’ between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu’s normalization of the far-right is likely to prevent any major breakthrough.
With the atmosphere in Israel tense, the political opposition warning of constitutional upheaval and worries of a security crisis in the Palestinian arena, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu will need to bring forth a real achievement to ensure his new government withstands these circumstances, Haaretz analyst Amos Harel wrote.
In the years when Trump was president, Israel and Saudi Arabia moved much closer, given the close ties of Netanyahu’s and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Harel added.
Foreign media outlets frequently reported extensive security and intelligence ties between Tel Aviv and Riyadh.
What will the Saudis ask for in return? Harel said that conversations with several people knowledgeable about the ties indicate that the crown prince will have a number of demands, but they’ll be directed at the U.S. much more than Israel. With that, the Saudi interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is limited.
In indirect contacts with the U.S. administration, bin Salman noted a number of requests, of which three are the most significant: Public tightening of ties with the US, removal of restrictions on weapons purchase, and a civilian nuclear project in Saudi Arabia.
Normalization Not to Serve Palestinians
Harel pointed out that as long as there’s no clash over the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the heightened security problems in the West Bank don’t get out of hand, it’s highly unlikely that the Saudis intend to present a breakthrough in Israel’s process with the Palestinian Authority.
Netanyahu’s interview with a Saudi-state website sparked a large condemnation on social media.
Turki Al-Shalhoub Twitter account said “It is shameful that Al-Arabiya TV channel has become a platform to promote normalization with Israel.”
Other social media users denounced that MBS is the first Saudi ruler to normalize relations with the Israeli occupation
