Daily News Analysis

A WAR THAT ENDS THE SAUDI-ISRAEL ‘NORMALISATION’ PROCESS

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Why in the News?

The lethal attacks by Hamas on Israel have overturned the latter’s efforts, supported by the US, to promote a normalisation of relations with Arab states.

  • At the UNGA, Israel’s Prime Minister showcased two maps:
  • one depicted an isolated Israel in 1948
  • The other showed Arab neighbours that currently had peace agreements with Israel — Egypt, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Jordan. 
  • The occupied Palestinian territories (the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem) were shown as integral parts of Israel.

 

On October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas initiated a major assault on Israel that resulted in 1,300 Israeli casualties. Israel responded with a fierce bombing campaign in Gaza that has so far killed at least 1,900 Palestinians, with the possibility of an Israeli ground invasion into the territory still looming.

Amid this escalating violence between Israel and Hamas, Saudi Arabia has pressed pause on any talks about potential normalization of diplomatic ties with Israel, according to a source familiar with the discussions who spoke to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The source said Saudi officials have informed U.S. representatives that they are suspending any dialogue on establishing formal relations with Israel for the time being.

A source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday that Saudi Arabia has put on hold any discussions about potentially establishing formal diplomatic relations with Israel. This comes amid the ongoing violent conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

U.S.-backed diplomacy:

  1. The U.S. officials pushed for diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia to close within 2023.
  2. Two Israeli Ministers visited Saudi Arabia for international conferences which signified increasing bonhomie between the two countries.
  3. Three conditions were placed by Saudi before the U.S. before the normalisation deal:
    1. the approval of U.S. for a civilian nuclear programme that will provide for uranium enrichment within the country.
    2. An “iron-clad” U.S. security guarantee for Saudi
    3. Sales of advanced weapons.
  4. The three conditions accepted by the US was criticised for many reasons:
    1. The U.S. politicians opposed the idea of giving security guarantees to an authoritarian state.
    2. Risk of Saudi Arabia developing its own nuclear programme that can pose an unacceptable proliferation risk
    3. Obstacles to the U.S. sales of advanced weapons, mainly due to Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record at home and in Yemen. 
    4. Concerns about Saudi insistence of transfer of technology along with supply of arms to develop its arms industry.
  5. However, Palestinian interests and concerns were not considered in these normalisation discussions, and Israel failed to even talk about
    1. Palestinian aspirations for a sovereign and viable state or
    2. accept East Jerusalem as the capital of that state or
    3. at least promise freezing settlements in the West Bank, deferring annexation, or dismantling illegal outposts.

Palestinian interests in focus:

  1. Some blame the Iran Islamic Republic to have instigated the Hamas attacks to block Saudi Arabia’s normalisation initiative with Israel.
    1. This fails to hold true as Saudi-Iran ties have already been normalised under Chinese mediation.
    2. This has been indicated by re-opened embassies in both capitals, exchange of high-level visits and expansion of economic cooperation.
  2. Saudi has now asserted to stand by the Palestinian people for their legitimate rights.
  3. The problems faced by Palestinians have come into focus:
    1. settlement expansion
    2. settler violence in the West Bank. 
    3. desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex
    4. repetition of systematic provocations of its sanctities
    5. dangers of the explosion of the situation as a result of the occupation

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