Riyadh, October 14, 2023: In a significant development, Saudi Arabia has suspended potential talks on normalization of ties with Israel amid the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
According to Israeli authorities, on October 7, Hamas launched hostile attacks against Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,300 Israelis. In retaliation, Israel initiated an offensive and non-discriminatory bombing campaign, resulting in approximately 2,215 Palestinian casualties. Additionally, there is a looming threat of a potential Israeli invasion into the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli military has issued warnings to over a million Palestinians to relocate to the southern part of the blockade.
The news about Saudi Arabia suspending talks on normalization came when the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to meet with his Saudi counterpart during his six-nation tour to Middle East.
Saudi Arabia, home to two of the holiest sites in Islam, has never recognized Israel. It also did not join the US-led efforts of the Abraham Accords in 2020, which saw other Gulf states such as Bahrain, Morocco, and the UAE establish formal ties with Israel.
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However, in recent months, the Biden administration has been pushing Saudi Arabia to follow in the footsteps of its Gulf neighbors. As a result, the de facto ruler and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman (MBS), laid out conditions for the normalization of ties with Israel. These conditions included security guarantees from Washington and the development of a civilian nuclear program.
Up until the Israeli offensive against Palestinian civilians, both states were drawing closer to a historic deal. In an interview, Prince MBS said, “Every day, we get closer to the deal,” although he asserted that the Palestinian issue was “very vital” for Riyadh.
It must be noted that during normalization talks, Israel’s Tourism Minister, Haim Kutz, also made a historic visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the UN Conference. This visit marked the first-ever official visit of an Israeli minister to Saudi Arabia. At the same time, the nonresident Saudi ambassador, Nayef al-Sudairi, was also visiting the West Bank, making it the first-ever visit of a Saudi delegation to the West Bank since 1967. This highlighted the significance of the Palestine issue for Riyadh.
