Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, right, meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, DC, on August 17, 2023. Screenshot from Blinken’s Twitter account
i24 News – If the possibility of a “deal of the century” between Israel and Saudi Arabia is ever to become a reality, it will not be without significant concessions to the Palestinians on the part of the Hebrew state, Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed to Ron Dermer during his visit to Washington last week.
Four current and former US administration officials told Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, in an article published on the Axios news website, that White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Blinken had discussed with Dermer the need for Israeli concessions for the Palestinians as part of any normalization deal with the Saudis.
Met with @AmbDermer to underscore the steadfast U.S. commitment to Israeli security and ongoing efforts to expand regional integration. I reaffirmed U.S. support for affirmative steps to de-escalate tensions and bolster stability in the West Bank. pic.twitter.com/aXdTPdbE1x
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 18, 2023
Sullivan also informed Dermer that Biden was seeking broad support from congressional Democrats for a mega-agreement with Saudi Arabia, a source close to the matter told Axios.
To achieve this, Sullivan insisted that serious Israeli measures towards the Palestinians were essential. For his part, Blinken warned Dermer against any “misinterpretation” of the situation by the Israeli government.
According to Axios sources, Dermer had not demonstrated any real willingness on the part of the Israeli government to make concessions in order to reach an agreement with the Saudis.
For that reason, Blinken insisted that Saudi Arabia had to show the Arab and Muslim world that it had obtained important results from Israel regarding the Palestinians in exchange for a normalization agreement, the officials said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is considering a proposal from China to build a nuclear power plant on its territory, according to information published Friday by the Wall Street Journal. Saudi officials familiar with the matter told the American newspaper that the China National Nuclear Corporation had proposed to Riyadh that it build a nuclear power plant near the border with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The aim of this move would be to put pressure on the United States to support the kingdom in its quest for nuclear energy.
Unlike the Biden administration, which has set conditions prior to any aid to the Saudi nuclear industry, such as a ban on uranium enrichment, China is unlikely to present Riyadh with conditions aimed at preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons, the media outlet added.
The Saudi civilian nuclear program is one of the parameters at the heart of the potential normalization agreement with Israel, which would involve significant security guarantees from Washington to Riyadh.
Such a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be a major diplomatic victory for the Democratic president.
Senior U.S. officials have recently asserted that the Biden administration is seeking to complete its initiative with Saudi Arabia by the end of the year or the first quarter of 2024, before the presidential election campaign completely takes precedence over the Democratic president’s agenda.
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