According to media reports in Israel and the US, high-level advisers to US President Joe Biden covertly travelled to Saudi Arabia recently.
US-based Axios stated the continuing dialogues relate to a potential comprehensive deal that could encompass a peace accord between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Covert visit: What’s the significance?
The clandestine visit holds considerable weight as the White House is deeply embroiled in an extensive diplomatic endeavour to forge a comprehensive agreement involving Saudi Arabia and Israel. It aims to finalise it in the upcoming months and before the 2024 election fervour fully engulfs Biden’s schedule.
Brett McGurk, the Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council, alongside Amos Hochstein, the Presidential Special Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security, reportedly undertook a confidential journey to Saudi Arabia last Thursday.
A White House has denied the visit, saying McGurk is “in the region regularly working on a host of matters aimed at reducing broader tensions in the Middle East region.”
It adds that Hochstein regularly “travels to capitals around the world supporting the president’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure, including the recently inaugurated India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor.”
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Navigating a web of interests and challenges: The deal’s intricacies
Talks between the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia have encountered a complex web of interests and challenges.
This includes potential support for a Saudi civilian nuclear program, a security agreement between the US and Saudi Arabia, and advanced weapons sales to the Kingdom.
Discussions also extend to the normalisation between Saudi Arabia and Israel, with aspects about Israeli concessions in the occupied West Bank under negotiation.
However, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a significant hurdle, and any mega-deal inclusive of Israeli and Saudi normalisation should sustain the future possibility of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
The potential Saudi-Israeli normalisation introduces a pivotal moment in Middle Eastern geopolitics, intertwining shared strategic interests, economic opportunities, and regional stability aspirations with a tangle of political, social, and ethical challenges.
