A day after Israel Hayom exclusively reported on the apparent breakthrough toward normalization with Saudi Arabia, the preliminary signs are turning into practice with the arrival in Israel of Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden's Middle East adviser.
McGurk will land in Israel on Monday and is expected to participate in an update with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to advance the normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Joe Biden. American interest, photo: AP
Biden's Middle East adviser comes from Saudi Arabia, where another senior U.S. administration official — White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan — met with Saudi Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. They discussed, among other things, economic cooperation between the three countries: the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
On the face of it, it seems that all sides are interested in upgrading the relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but as far as Israel is concerned, the prerequisites include opposition to the possibility of a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia, as part of a peace agreement. As of now, assessments are that the chances of any agreement this year are slim.
As mentioned, Israel Hayom reported yesterday that Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is expected to hold a telephone conversation with his counterpart, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Among other things, the conversation will deal with the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough between Saudi Arabia and Israel. It continues the secure video discussion between National Security Council chief Hanegbi and his American counterpart, Jake Sullivan – a discussion that was joined by Prime Minister Netanyahu.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at a meeting with Nanyahu in Jerusalem (archive), photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO
"The United States is working normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Ultimately, achieving full normalization is a declared security interest of the United States. We've always been clear about that," Sullivan said at a briefing at the Washington Institute on Thursday. It was the first time that such a senior administration representative had defined peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia as in America's interest.
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