'Window of opportunity' to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia could close soon, says Israeli foreign minister
Eli Cohen: 'We are very optimistic about the possibility of achieving such an agreement'
While Israel believes there is an opportunity to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, the window for reaching such an agreement could close soon, according to Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.
On Sunday Cohen said that there was a short “window of opportunity” for the Jewish state to enter into a U.S.-brokered normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.
“We are very optimistic about the possibility of achieving such an agreement. This is an achievable agreement, after which more countries will follow,” said the Israeli foreign minister.
He added that Saudis reportedly “were also interested in such an agreement,” which “will not be part” of the Abraham Accords and would include other countries as well. He did not specify which countries but said that talks on such an agreement were taking place, mainly via the U.S. Biden administration.
In 2020, Israel signed the historic Abraham Accords peace agreements to normalize relations with four Arab nations: Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan. The accords were brokered by then-U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.
Cohen said that Israel estimates that “there is a window of opportunity until March 2024” for an agreement with Saudi Arabia, “after which the political system in the US will focus on the presidential elections” to take place in the fall of that year.
Saudi Arabia is reportedly expecting large concessions from the United States in exchange for potentially normalizing ties with Israel.
In early June, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan, who said he expects Washington to support Saudi Arabia’s civil nuclear program.
“It’s no secret that we are developing our domestic civilian nuclear program, and we would very much prefer to be able to have the US as one of the bidders,” bin Farhan said at the time.
Saudi Arabia would also like to see security and economic guarantees from the U.S., according to an unnamed senior Middle East diplomat who spoke to the Times of Israel. In addition, Saudi Arabia is expecting “significant” concessions to the Palestinians as part of a normalization deal, according to the diplomat.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
