The US mediates between Israel and Saudi Arabia on regulating islands in the Red Sea - Jerusalem wants normalization moves

American sources told Walla!

Because the Saudis want to significantly change the activities of the international observer force operating in the islands of Tiran and Sanif under the peace agreement with Egypt.

Israel is willing to consider this, but demands alternative security arrangements and normalization measures such as the passage of Israeli planes in Saudi skies

Lightning Ravid

23/05/2022

Monday, 23 May 2022, 19:07 Updated: Tuesday, 24 May 2022, 02:13

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Secret negotiations under the auspices of the United States. Bennett and Biden at their meeting at the White House (Photo: Government Press Office, Av Ohayon)

The Biden government is secretly mediating between Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in an attempt to secure a series that would complete the transfer of the Tiran and Red Sea islands to Saudi sovereignty and include a separate move of Saudi normalization measures toward Israel, according to four U.S. sources involved.

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why is it important

• If the negotiations are successful, it may pave the way for significant normalization measures on the part of Saudi Arabia towards Israel. Such a development would be a significant breakthrough and a great political achievement for the Bennett-Lapid government and the Biden government in the Middle East.

Towards a political breakthrough?

King Salman of Saudi Arabia (Photo: Reuters)

reminder

• In April 2016 Egypt signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to transfer the islands of Tiran and the Red Sea fin to Saudi sovereignty.

  The islands are in a strategic location because they control the Tiran Straits, which are the seaway to the port of Aqaba in Jordan and the port of Eilat in Israel.

• The blockade of Tiran by Egypt and the blocking of the passage of Israeli ships to Africa and Asia was one of the main reasons why Israel went to war during the Six Day War in 1967. The agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia transferred the islands from the sovereignty of a country with Israel.

• The agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia met with widespread protest in Egyptian public opinion.

  Despite this the agreement was ratified by the Egyptian Parliament in June 2017 and approved by the Supreme Court of Egypt in March 2018.

• In order to complete the agreement, Egypt and the Saudis had to accept the position of another key player in the region - Israel.

  The Egyptian concession to the islands for Saudi Arabia affected the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.

• The peace agreement between Israel and Egypt stipulates that the two islands will be demilitarized by military forces and that there will be a presence of an international observer force led by the United States.

• In 2017, Israel gave agreement in principle to the deal, subject to the Egyptians and the Saudis reaching an agreement on the continued operation of the International Observer Force as required by the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

• But despite the years that have passed this issue has never been fully settled.

  Some gaps remain regarding the work of international observers and additional commitments that the Saudis had to provide.

In the news

• Following White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan's visit to Saudi Arabia in September 2020, the Biden government began talks with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel to try and resolve the issue, US sources said.

• According to the sources, the Biden administration believed that regulating the issue of the islands would lead to the building of trust between the parties and would open a window of opportunity for warming relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Egypt is also involved in negotiations. Bennett in a meeting with al-Sisi in September (Photo: Government Press Office, Kobi Gideon)

between the lines

• Saudi Arabia supported the Abrahamic agreements reached by the Trump administration and which led to peace and normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

• In the same breath, the Saudis made it clear that they would not accede to the Avraham agreements until there was significant progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Behind the Scenes

• According to American sources, the person who leads the contacts with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel on behalf of the Biden government is the holder of the Middle East portfolio at the White House, Brett McGrack.

• A key issue in the negotiations is the future activity of the International Observer Force which held a presence on the islands and was responsible for touring the area and ensuring that freedom of navigation in Tiran Egypt was not violated.

• Sources noted that the Saudis agreed to keep the islands demilitarized by military forces and to commit to full sailing freedom for all ships, but demanded an end to the presence of the International Observer Force on the islands.

• Israel, which places special emphasis on the future of international observer power activities, has agreed to consider ending the observers' presence on the islands but has demanded an alternative arrangement that will ensure that security arrangements remain equally strong or even improve.

Jerusalem wants normalization moves.

Prime Minister Bennett and Foreign Minister Lapid (Photo: Official Website, Omar Miron, GPO)

the other side

• American sources stated that Israel wants to receive compensation for its agreement with Saudi Arabia's demands on the islands in the form of Saudi normalization moves toward Israel.

• For example, Israel has asked Saudi Arabia to allow Israeli airlines to use its airspace for flights to the Far East, which will dramatically shorten flight time.

• Following the announcement of the Abrahamic Agreements, the Saudi administration promised to allow Israeli airlines to fly east through their airspace, but never implemented this except for flights to the UAE and Bahrain.

• Israel also requested during the negotiations that the Saudis allow direct flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia for Muslim Israelis wishing to make a pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Today Israelis who want to do so have to fly from Jordan.

What next

• U.S. sources said the Biden administration had not yet reached an agreement with all three relevant states and that talks on the issue were still ongoing.

• The White House is seeking to reach an understanding on the issue ahead of President Biden's visit to the Middle East, which is scheduled to take place during the last two weeks of June.

• Sources noted that Biden also plans to visit Saudi Arabia as part of his visit to the Middle East.

  According to them, Biden may attend a summit in Saudi Arabia along with King Salman and leaders of the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.

• If the visit goes ahead it will be the first meeting between Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

  The U.S. sees Ben-Salman as the one who gave the order to assassinate Washington Post commentator Jamal Hashukaji at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Since then, Ben-Salman has been considered an outcast because of disgust in Washington.

• Ben-Salman is soon planning a visit to the Middle East, including Egypt and Jordan, for the first time since the assassination of Hashukaji, and it is possible that this will happen as early as the beginning of June, sources told Reuters.

What are they saying

• The White House and the Prime Minister's Office declined to comment.

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• Israel

• Saudi Arabia

• Egypt