US envoy ties normalization of Israeli-Saudi relations to Gaza calm
4 Min Read
On Monday, the US described a bilateral defense pact with Saudi Arabia as "near final."
-
US envoy to occupied Al-Quds Jack Lew speaks during the Financial Stability Oversight Council at the Treasury Department in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016 (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Formalizing Israeli-Saudi relations as part of a developing trilateral agreement with Washington would necessitate a de-escalation of the war on Gaza and a dialogue on future Palestinian governance, the US envoy to occupied Al-Quds stated on Tuesday.
"There's going to have to be some period of quiet, I think, in Gaza, and there's going to have to be a conversation about how do you deal with the question of the future of Palestinian governance," Ambassador Jack Lew said.
"My view is that strategic benefit is worth taking the risk of getting into that conversation about. But that's a decision that the government of Israel will have to make and the people of Israel will have to make," he told a conference hosted by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) think tank.
On Monday, the US described a bilateral defense pact with Saudi Arabia as "near final." Once completed, it would be part of a broader deal offered to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, prompting him to consider making concessions to secure normalized ties with Riyadh.
Netanyahu has long advocated for such a diplomatic achievement. However, seven months into the war on Gaza, a ceasefire remains elusive, and he believes it is too soon to discuss future Palestinian governance.
Addressing the IDI event separately, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, contended that establishing bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia would undermine the Palestinian resistance, which he said Iran backs.
"I very much hope that this possibility is being seriously considered, as the empire of evil sought on October 7 to destroy the chance for normalization," Herzog said.
"Our struggle, in the end, is not only a fight against Hamas. It is a wider, strategic, global, and historic battle, and we must do everything to integrate into the grand vision of normalization."
The Netanyahu regime, however, has said a failure to defeat the Resistance could harm Israeli credibility in the eyes of US-aligned Arab powers, which worry about Islamist militancy.
Read more: Saudi Crown Prince MBS postpones visit to Japan due to King's health
On Monday, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his Security chief Yoav Gallant. The Chief Prosecutor of the ICC Karim Khan cited war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the "territory of the State of Palestine," in the Gaza Strip, from at least October 8, 2023. This was the first action of its kind taken against any major US partner in addition to any self-proclaimed "democracy".
He said that both top Israeli officials bear criminal responsibility for a list of "war crimes and crimes against humanity," including "extermination and/or murder, starving civilians, willful killing, willfully causing great suffering or serious injury," and deliberate direct attacks against a civilian population.
Netanyahu described on Monday the measures of the ICC as "antisemtic," and confirmed that they will not constrain "Israel" in its war on Gaza.
US President Joe Biden voiced his condemnation on Monday of the court's measure, describing the warrants as "outrageous".
"Let me be clear, we reject the ICC’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders," Biden said at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House on Monday.
"Contrary to allegations against Israel made by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), what’s happening in Gaza is not genocide. We reject that," Biden said in his speech.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Biden's stance, saying the United States "fundamentally rejects" the move.
