Saudi Arabia and Israel had been close to a deal on the eve of the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre in the Israeli towns bordering Gaza. The war put the deal on hold, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken still believed that it was possible, even if the details had changed. Blinken also wanted Saudi Arabia to fund Gaza's reconstruction following the end of the war.
According to The Atlantic, Bin Salman, for his part, told Blinken that the Biden administration stood the best chance of realizing a deal, and that he wanted to move quickly, before the November 2024 elections, which could precipitate US President Donald Trump's return to power.
Bin Salman told Blinken that such a deal required "calm" in Gaza, but that Israel could periodically re-enter Gaza to conduct security operations. He stressed, however, that such operations could not take place in the near future: "They can come back in six months, a year, but not on the back end of my signing something like this."
He also explained his insistence on any deal including a two-state solution.
"Seventy percent of my population is younger than me," bin Salman, age 38, told Blinken. "For most of them, they never really knew much about the Palestinian issue. And so they’re being introduced to it for the first time through this conflict. It’s a huge problem. Do I care personally about the Palestinian issue? I don’t, but my people do, so I need to make sure this is meaningful."
The Atlantic noted, however, that a Saudi official claimed that this recounting of the conversation is "incorrect."
Bin Salman also stressed, "Half my advisers say that the deal is not worth the risk. I could end up getting killed because of this deal." Israel National News - Arutz Sheva
