Here’s what we know so far: Secretary of State Antony Blinken, currently on a Middle East tour, is advocating for a normalization agreement in discussions with Saudi and Israeli officials. Blinken’s goals are to end the Gaza war, isolate Iran, and foster stability in the region.
Now, Saudi officials have told The Wall Street Journal that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Blinken a ceasefire is imperative before any progress can be made on normalization with the Jewish State. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’s ceasefire terms for Gaza, which included the release of thousands of prisoners among other concessions. And last Thursday night, President Biden announced that the US was actively working to facilitate a temporary halt in the hostilities in Gaza.
According to the WSJ, the prospective Israel-Saudi agreement is a component of a larger post-war strategy advocated by the administration. This strategy encompasses the reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip, with financial backing from Arab nations, and the establishment of a restructured Palestinian Authority to oversee the territory following Israel’s withdrawal. However, this plan continues to face significant challenges (It’s On: US and Arab States Pushing Timeline for Palestinian State).
But Netanyahu’s primary objective of defeating Hamas has taken precedence, leading to his reluctance to concede further to meet Riyadh’s demands for recognition of a Palestinian state.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken sounded more like a prophet and less like a politician when he told a press conference in Tel Aviv, “You can see the path forward for Israel and for the entire region. Going down that path, pursuing it, requires hard decisions.”
Yes, like the Jewish State agreeing to erect two terrorist enclaves on its borders, which, combined with Hezbollah’s astounding cache of hundreds of thousands of Iranian missiles, could execute an October 7 do-over and this time, you know, kill all the Jews, just like the Quran says.
After Blinken met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Tuesday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said they had communicated to the Americans that “there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. … And Israel must also halt its military operation in Gaza and withdraw its troops from the enclave.”
Blinken said after the meeting with the Crown Prince: “He repeated to me his desire and determination to pursue normalization. But he also repeated that in order to do that, two things need to happen: One, there needs to be calm in Gaza; two, there needs to be a clear and credible pathway to a Palestinian state.”
The word “indefatigable” comes to mind. Apparently, the Biden folks are convinced the establishment of a Palestinian state would be such a Nobel Prize-worthy event, that it would make winning in November a walk in the park.
They are wrong, of course, most American voters couldn’t care less about their country’s foreign policy – they vote with their wallet and their purse. Biden could bring world peace in our time, but if it costs five dollars to buy a gallon of gas, he’s a goner.
Netanyahu meanwhile told reporters this week that, “Ultimately, the elimination of Hamas will radiate across the entire Middle East and allow us to expand the circle of peace with our neighbors. Today I told US Secretary of State Blinken: ‘We are within reach of total victory, which will also be victory for the entire free world. Not only Israel’s.’”
Israel’s victory would “change the Middle East forever,” remove “walls of enmity,” and establish “a corridor of energy pipelines, rail lines, fiber optic cables, between Asia through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates,” the PM added.
Isn’t it amazing how regional peace can be achieved by quashing and by boosting PA Arabs’ hope for a state? Perspective is so important…
