Biden Admin. Hoping For Saudi-Israeli Peace Deal Before 2024 Campaign - Reports

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published May 17, 2023 | 11:12 PM

The Biden administration is hoping to help facilitate a Saudi-Israeli peace deal before the presidential election campaign picks up next year, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing officials familiar with the matter

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th May, 2023) The Biden administration is hoping to help facilitate a Saudi-Israeli peace deal before the presidential election campaign picks up next year, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing officials familiar with the matter.

Last week, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) to discuss the possibility of Saudi-Israeli normalization, the report said. Sullivan reportedly told MBS that the US sees reaching a Saudi-Israeli deal by the end of the year as a possibility.

A normalization deal with Israel would receive more bipartisan support if brokered while President Joe Biden is in office, the report said, because many Democrats who are critical of the kingdom would be more likely to support an agreement if done under a president of their own party.

After Sullivan's meeting with MBS, one of Biden's senior advisors traveled to Jerusalem with White House middle East czar Brett McGurk to brief Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli officials, who have also stressed the benefits of making a deal with a Democratic president, have long sought to normalize relations with the kingdom, especially since the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, the report said.

Any successful normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia brokered by the Biden administration is expected to include increased relations between the US and Saudi Arabia, and a package of American rewards for the Saudis, the report said.

If successful, such a deal could pave the way for other Muslim and Arabic countries to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in addition to smoothing away tensions between Saudi Arabia and the US, the news outlet noted.