As part of the United States, one of the primary goals of a deal with Saudi Arabia is to significantly reduce Chinese technology in the kingdom. Achieving an advanced defense agreement with Saudi Arabia will provide the Americans with a crucial foothold in one of the most important countries in the region, amidst growing influence from Beijing and Moscow. However, many believe that President Biden may struggle to promote such a move without including Israel and its normalization with Saudi Arabia.
Despite efforts by Biden to implement the move quickly, there are concerns about whether Congress will approve it without clear benefits for Israel. Some doubt that this will be possible without a visible benefit for Israel, which could hinder Biden’s political achievement and foreign policy milestone ahead of the presidential elections in November.
According to recent reports, as soon as Saudi Arabia and the US finalize their agreement, they plan to present it to Prime Minister Netanyahu. The proposal includes normalization with Saudi Arabia, but only if Israel ends its conflict with Palestine and agrees to support a future outline that will allow for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu has stated repeatedly that he will not agree to any conditions for ending the conflict with Palestine until “total victory” is achieved over Hamas. Israel has also emphasized recently that it will not give up on its goal of a large-scale operation in Rafah, even if there is no hostage deal involved. Yesterday, Blinken reiterated during his meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem that the US opposes any large-scale operation in Rafah.
In response to concerns about Israeli objections, it has been reported that the US and Saudi Arabia are preparing a “Plan B” for their agreement, which would establish a civilian nuclear program in their region but would initially exclude uranium enrichment on Saudi Arabian soil. According to sources close to the matter, Blinken met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week who also met Abu Mazen around the same time. The Palestinian ambassador in Riyadh confirmed that during their meeting, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman assured Abu Mazen that they were committed to supporting him and would not leave him behind.
