(AFP) – The White House said on Friday that Israel and Saudi Arabia are nearing an outline of a historic agreement that will normalize their tense relations after decades of enmity.
By getting Saudi Arabia, the protector of the two holiest sites in Islam, to recognize the Jewish state, President Joe Biden hopes to alter the Middle East and win a diplomatic success during election season.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told reporters that “all sides have hammered out, I think, a basic framework for what, you know, what we might be able to drive at.”
“But everyone will have to do something in this situation since it will unavoidably be a difficult one. Additionally, everyone will need to make some concessions.
Following similar agreements with the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco, the US has pushed its Middle Eastern allies Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalize diplomatic relations.
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler, recently stated that the two countries were becoming closer, as did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Saudi Arabia has been demanding security assurances from the US, including a treaty, in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel.
However, the Palestinians have cautioned that they must be considered in any agreement, claiming that there can be no peace in the Middle East without a two-state solution.