Blinken to submit Saudi time-restricted normalization deal to 'Israel'
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The US Secretary of State will visit Israeli officials on Wednesday to discuss a number of issues and deliver the Palestinian Resistance's response to a truce proposal.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 5, 2024. (AP)
US Secretary of State Antony said that Saudi Arabia's Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) reiterated "strong interest" in normalizing ties with "Israel".
Blinken's remarks come as part of a Middle East tour that began on Sunday, in which he visited a number of countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt.
"With regard specifically to normalization, the crown prince reiterated Saudi Arabia's strong interest in pursuing that," Blinken told reporters in Doha on Tuesday.
However, the top US diplomat said that MBS is only prepared to take such steps after "an end to the conflict is secured" and a "clear, credible timebound path to the establishment of a Palestinian state" is agreed upon.
In 2023, Washington intensified talks with officials in Saudi Arabia in order to reach a framework for the normalization of ties between Riyadh and the occupation's regime.
These talks have not materialized into official ties between the two governments and they have been stalled ever since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was launched by the Palestinian Resistance on October 7.
Read more: Reuters: Saudi normalization now awaiting 'Israeli commitment'
Israeli media: Blinekn's visit to put pressure on "Israel"
Earlier, Hamas delivered the Palestinian Resistance's response to a framework agreement drawn up by top intelligence officials from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and France in Paris. Hamas' response was positive, yet stern and included a number of fundamental demands. The response insisted on a "full" and "comprehensive" ceasefire, among other core clauses, with emphasis on lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, a large reconstruction project, and a prisoner exchange deal.
Israeli media outlets took a special interest in Blinken's remarks that came against the backdrop of Hamas' announcement, as Israeli broadcaster KAN said the comments constituted a form of American political pressure on "Israel".
"All of this is happening while Blinken, the US Secretary of State, is present in the region in recent days, moving from country to country. Meanwhile, American pressure on Israel to agree to this proposal is increasing all the time," the broadcaster's anchor said on Tuesday evening.
Read more: Saudi Arabia could develop nukes if civilian program allowed: Ynet
Normalization with Riyadh: The crown jewel for 'Israel'
In response, KAN's political affairs correspondent, Amichai Stein, said, "It must be said that the Americans have placed all their hopes on this deal and ceasefire."
Blinken announced that he would deliver the response to Israeli officials on Wednesday. Amichai said that Blinken made the announcement although Israeli officials had clarified that talks "cannot progress with these conditions."
Nevertheless, Blinken said it is "essential" to move ahead.
Amichai added that among the issues that will be brought up by Blinken is the establishment of a Palestinian State and "normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia [being] the crown jewel for" the day after the end of the war on the Gaza Strip.
Amichai, citing US officials, warned that a proposal for normalization that is currently "on the table" will not be there for long, confirming that it will only be there "for a few weeks and then its validity [would] expire."
Read more: S. Arabia says still interested in normalizing ties with 'Israel'
