Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Saudi Arabian reportedly looking for ways to normalize her relationship with Israel which has so far been nothing as a form of solidarity with Palestine.
The normalization plan would have had the interference of the United States, a close ally of Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Rumors of Israeli and Saudi normalization have been heard for some time. However, Riyadh has so far been reluctant to speak openly about these rumours.
Israel’s i24NEWS news agency reported on Tuesday that the Saudis were working on forging formal relations with Israel, though that would take a long time to materialize.
i24NEWS reported Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Abdel al-Jubeir, even guaranteed that Saudi-Israeli normalization would happen eventually, even though he realized it would take some time.
Abdel said this when he spoke to senior US Jewish leaders recently.
In addition, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) is also said to have met US officials invited by the Washington Institute in Riyadh.
quoted Jerusalem PostDuring the meeting, MbS put forward three main demands that must be met before the Saudis decide to join the Abraham Accord regarding the normalization of relations with Israel.
If that happens, Saudi Arabia will become the last Arab country to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham deal after the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco in September 2020. This is sure to spark criticism and condemnation from the supporters of Palestine.
What are the three Saudi demands?
1. Strengthen the US-Saudi Arabia Alliance
Saudi Arabia is indeed a close ally of the United States in the Middle East. Even so, relations between the two countries have not always been cordial so far.
Several issues that have so far often hindered US-Saudi Arabia relations have been the Human Rights Defense (HAM) issue. The United States is a democratic country and claims to support the enforcement of human rights.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is a conservative Islamic country where Islamic sharia law is still firmly adhered to. For this reason, a variety of legal practices, such as executing prisoners and curtailing women’s rights, are often a cause for concern in the United States.
Furthermore, the 2018 murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, Turkey has made US-Saudi relations even more awkward. Kashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate building in Istanbul by unscrupulous government officials believed to have been working under the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS).
On the one hand, many in the US are calling on the White House to impose sanctions on the Saudis and prosecute MbS. However, on the other hand, the US also has many interests with Saudi Arabia, one of which is helping to reduce Iran’s influence and oil issues.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States were warm again when President Donald Trump took office. US arms purchases have been pretty smooth in the Trump era, which made King Salman happy.
However, relations between Riyadh and Washington became strained again when President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
The arrival of Biden in Saudi Arabia last July was not even greeted with a smile by MbS. The Crown Prince even embarrassed Biden by announcing oil production cuts that differed significantly from US demands.
Biden chafed when Saudi state television stared him in the face during the panel discussion.
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