Blinken does not rule out a possible deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia before Biden's term ends

Normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia remains a foreign policy priority for the Biden administration less than two months before the US presidential election. 

Washington has been working for months to achieve a peace agreement between the two countries that would profoundly transform the Middle East. Aware of this, some point out that one of the objectives of Hamas - backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran - in launching the 7 October attack was precisely to thwart normalisation. 

Contrary to what one might think, the terrorist attack and the ensuing war in Gaza, which will be a year old next month, did not disrupt US efforts and negotiations with Riyadh to reach an agreement with Israel that would significantly boost the Jewish state's regional integration at a key moment in its history.  

Indeed, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asserted, a normalisation agreement is still possible before President Biden leaves office in January. However, Blinken links this possible agreement to the mediators' ability to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.  

‘I believe that if we can achieve a ceasefire in Gaza there will continue to be an opportunity throughout this administration to move towards normalisation,’ Blinken said during a press conference in Haiti. 

Regarding a possible ceasefire, the head of US diplomacy indicated that the truce in Gaza between Hamas and Israel is ‘almost ready’, according to US assessments. ‘Based on what I've seen, 90% of it is agreed, but there are some critical issues remaining,’ he said.  

One of the main disagreements between Israel and Hamas relates to the presence of Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip. While the terrorist group demands a full and complete withdrawal, Israel insists on maintaining military control in several key areas, such as the Philadelphi corridor, a point through which arms were tunnelled into the Palestinian territory from Egypt.  

Cairo completely rejects Israeli military control over this 14-kilometre strip of land that separates Egypt from Gaza. In addition, this week, Turkey and five Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority, joined Egypt in rejecting Israel's military presence in the Philadelphi corridor. 

Blinken also stressed that the normalisation process would also require Israel to accept a ‘credible path to a Palestinian state’. 

This is one of the main conditions that Saudi Arabia has put forward, assuring that it will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognised on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem. Now, with the war in Gaza, Riyadh has also demanded an end to Israeli ‘aggression’ in the Palestinian enclave. 

Moreover, in exchange for normalisation with Israel, Saudi Arabia would get security guarantees from the US, as well as bilateral cooperation with Washington on civilian nuclear energy.