Biden wants to push for Israel-Saudi Arabia peace deal this year, officials say

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – US President Biden wants to push for a peace deal between Israel and its long-term foe Saudi Arabia, before he gets caught up in the 2024 presidential election campaign, two US officials with knowledge of the issue told Axios.

Like the Arab and Muslim majority countries which signed the Abraham Accords normalizing relations with Israel under the Trump administration, Saudi Arabia could expect an upgrade in its relations with the US as well as a package of tangible deliverables from the US government, if it agrees a peace deal with Israel, Axios reports.

While such a historic deal would likely result in many more Arab and Muslim countries making peace with Israel, and thus increasing stability to the Middle East, a US overture to Saudi Arabia could cost Biden politically, Axios noted.

“Biden once vowed to make Saudi Arabia a ‘pariah’ over the kingdom’s human rights record and the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. US intelligence says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is responsible for Khashoggi’s murder — an allegation Saudi Arabia denies,” Axios journalist Barak Ravid explained in his report.

Saudi Arabia has stated publicly that it would only normalize relations with Israel if there is progress on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and no party has yet committed to finalizing an agreement. “It is unclear what the Saudis and the U.S. will ask for and how far Netanyahu’s far-right government will go to secure a deal,” Ravid noted.

Nevertheless, the two US officials indicated that the Biden administration believes a Saudi-Israeli deal may be thrashed out by the end of this year.

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