By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
RIYADH/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Saudi Arabia has softened its position on Palestinian statehood, telling Washington that “a public commitment” from Israel to a two-state solution “could be enough” for the Gulf kingdom to normalize relations with the Jewish nation, according to Saudi and Western officials.
In remarks Friday, the officials also announced that Riyadh abandoned its pursuit of an “ambitious defense treaty” with Washington and sought “a more modest military cooperation agreement” in return for regular ties with Israel.
According to Western diplomats familiar with his thinking, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views normalization with Saudi Arabia as a historical milestone and a sign of broader acceptance in the Arab world.
But he faces opposition at home to any concessions to Palestinians in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks that killed some 1,200 people.
And with public anger in Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East mounting over Israel’s strikes against Hamas in Gaza, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has again made recognition of Israel conditional on it taking concrete steps to create a Palestinian state.
Yet, with U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump soon becoming dealmaker-in-chief, Riyadh and Washington hope a more modest defense pact could be sealed before Joe Biden leaves the White House on January 20.
A full-blown U.S.-Saudi treaty would need to pass the U.S. Senate with a two-thirds majority, and this would be a non-starter unless Riyadh recognizes Israel, several sources said.
However, Trump has made it clear that he wants to extend the Abraham Accords, which already include agreements on Arab–Israeli normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain, on September 15, 2020.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
President Donald Trump declared Tuesday that the United States has entered a new “Golden Age,” pointing to accelerating factory activity, record stock-market levels and sustained growth in American exports.
Written free-speech protections at American colleges have reached their strongest level in two decades, according to a new report from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
Intensifying Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports and commercial vessels have effectively revived a Black Sea blockade, threatening Ukraine’s agricultural economy and raising concerns over global food supplies.
Israeli and Lebanese representatives concluded the first day of U.S.-mediated negotiations in Rome on Tuesday, with talks scheduled to resume Wednesday morning as both sides seek progress toward a broader security agreement.
Israeli surgeons have successfully reconstructed the chest wall of a young cancer patient using a fully personalized, 3D-printed implant, marking a medical first for Israel and opening new possibilities for patients facing complex tumor-removal surgery.
Iran has deployed regular army special forces into northern Iraq, carrying out a series of ground raids against Iranian Kurdish opposition groups as Tehran moves to eliminate forces it views as a potential threat to the Islamic Republic.
Egyptian authorities have executed the man convicted of murdering a Coptic Orthodox priest, bringing to a close a case that shocked Egypt’s Christian community more than four years after the fatal attack, Worthy News learned Tuesday