Saudis want peace with Israel, don’t care about Palestinian state – report

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Saudi Arabia may drop its requirement that Israel make an absolute commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian State as a pre-condition for a normalization agreement, according to a report in Haaretz.

Instead of requiring Israel to promise to establish a Palestinian state, the wording of the agreement now requests that Israel merely “create a pathway” to a two-state solution.

The talks began after the ceasefire with Lebanon with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducting the negotiations with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman through Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

According to the report, Netanyahu believes that the Saudi Crown Prince is not particularly interested in a Palestinian state, but feels he must address the issue to deal with public pressure.

Therefore, the open-ended wording that Israel should “create a path towards statehood” will likely garner political support.

In addition, a normalization agreement is likely to facilitate a hostage release deal since Riyadh has expressed interest in the reconstruction of Gaza, a positive for Israel since it would involve a more moderate Arab State.

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Just a few months ago, the chances of a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia seemed remote.

In September, Saudi Arabia suspended negotiations regarding a U.S.-brokered peace deal with Israel due to concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “extreme right” coalition partners, according to a Saudi outlet.

The Elaph newspaper reported that the Gulf kingdom has frozen talks due to worries that Netanyahu’s government will not agree to sweeping concessions to the Palestinians, which Saudi Arabia considers a major condition for a normalization agreement.

The report blamed Religious Zionist Party head Betzalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir for being unwilling to negotiate in good faith regarding “any gestures” towards the Palestinians.

Smotrich stressed in an interview with Army Radio that he would not support a normalization agreement that included “any concessions to the Palestinians.”

He added that although Israel was interested in formalizing ties with the Gulf kingdom, such a deal “has nothing to do with Judea and Samaria.”