Saudi Arabia rejects Trump's attempt to link civilian nuclear deal to Israel normalization, reaffirming Palestinian statehood remains non-negotiable condition. Saudi Arabia has pushed back firmly against U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to make a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement contingent on the kingdom normalizing relations with Israel, signaling that Riyadh will not be pressured into abandoning its Palestinian statehood condition.
Trump submitted the proposed Saudi nuclear agreement to Congress on Monday, and according to administration officials, the pact will only go into effect if Saudi Arabianormalizes relations with Israel. Trump claimed the deal "will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords." The Saudi response was swift and unambiguous. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement emphasizing that the kingdom's position remains "firm and unwavering," reaffirming that it will not normalize relations with Israel without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
A Non-Negotiable Position
Sources close to the Saudi royal family told Channel 12 that the civilian nuclear program and Israeli normalization must be treated as separate issues. According to the sources, the nuclear agreement is part of broader U.S.-Saudi partnership and should not be leveraged to extract political concessions on the Israeli question. More pointedly, Saudi officials indicated that the Gaza war fundamentally altered the regional calculus, causing Riyadh to establish more stringent requirements for any future normalization agreement and to put US-brokered Israeli normalization talks on hold.
Saudi sources said that with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "current far-right government," and absent substantive change on Palestinian issues, normalization remains off the agenda. Saudi Arabia intends to wait and see what government forms in Israel and what position it takes on Palestinian statehood before resuming any discussions.
A Long-Standing Saudi Condition
Saudi Arabia's demand for Palestinian statehood predates recent developments. The kingdom first raised the prospect of normal relations with Israel in 2002, when Crown Prince Abdullah proposed full Arab normalization if Israel withdrew from the territories it occupied since the Six-Day War. That position, now known as the Arab Peace Initiative and adopted by the Arab League, has defined Saudi diplomacy for over two decades.
The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative established Saudi leadership in Arab diplomacy but also created a rigid benchmark that subsequent Israeli governments have found difficult to meet. These historical positions continue to influence Saudi public discourse and official statements. (Ed note: Oh, oh. What happened to the Deal Maker's deal? As President Trump tries to put pressure on Arabia, they in turn, show their true colors about keeping the pressure on Israel.) (Read More)
