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U.S. Officials Say Biden Is Pushing for Saudi-Israeli Peace Deal

(Axios) Barak Ravid - White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) last week in Jeddah and, among other issues, discussed the possibility of Saudi-Israeli normalization, two U.S. officials said. The Saudi crown prince said he doesn't want to take any more incremental steps toward warming relations with Israel, but instead, work toward one big package that will include stronger U.S. military cooperation, one U.S. official said. The U.S. officials said it's in Saudi Arabia's interest to get a normalization agreement with Israel while President Biden is in office because it would receive more bipartisan political support, especially when it is likely to include U.S. steps toward Saudi Arabia that would be unpopular. Many Democrats who are critical of the kingdom will only support such an agreement if done under a president of their own party, the U.S. officials said. A senior Israeli official compared this to Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision to get a security assistance deal with President Obama in 2016. "The fact we got the deal with Obama strengthened support by Democrats in Congress for U.S. military aid to Israel," the official said.
2023-05-18 00:00:00
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