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Saudi Arabia Moves toward Eventual Ties with Israel

(Wall Street Journal) Dion Nissenbaum - Saudi Arabia is engaging in serious talks with Israel to build business ties and create new security arrangements as the kingdom senses a shift among its public in favor of establishing official ties with the Jewish state. With the Biden administration's help, Saudi Arabia and Israel are trying to broker an agreement that could give commercial planes expanded rights to fly from Israel over the kingdom. On a recent visit to Washington, Saudi Prince Khalid bin Salman, brother of the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, privately told people that recent polling showed a decisive shift, especially among Saudis under 30, in favor of diplomatic relations with Israel. "We always envisioned that there will be full normalization with Israel," Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, the Saudi foreign minister, said recently at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Saudi and Israeli officials said they could take incremental steps toward normalization before the overall conflict is resolved. Saudi officials say they are disillusioned with the Palestinian Authority, and Saudis resent Iran's support for Hamas. "If Hamas builds a relationship with Iran to protect themselves, then why don't we have a relationship with Israel against Iran to protect ourselves?" said one Saudi official. A Saudi move to establish diplomatic ties with Israel would effectively give most other Arab and Muslim nations a green light to follow suit.
2022-06-09 00:00:00
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