Photo: Jack Lew
Establishing formal Israeli-Saudi relations under an emerging trilateral agreement involving Washington will require reducing tensions in Gaza and discussing the prospects for Palestinian governance, the US ambassador to Israel said Tuesday.
< br /> "I think that there should be some period of calm in Gaza, and it will be necessary to discuss how the issue of the future of Palestinian governance will be resolved, – Ambassador Jack Lew said at a conference organized by the think tank Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), Reuters reports. – I believe the strategic benefit is worth the risk of starting this conversation. But this is a decision that the government of Israel and the people of Israel must make.”
On Monday, May 20, the US called it “almost final” bilateral defense agreement with Saudi Arabia. Once completed, it will be part of a broad agreement presented to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who must decide whether to make concessions to normalize relations with Riyadh.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said, that bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia would be a blow to the Iran-backed Hamas group.
"I really hope this possibility is taken seriously since the evil empire tried to destroy the chance for normalization on October 7th, – said the Duke. – Our struggle is ultimately – This is not only the fight against Hamas. This is a broader, strategic, global and historical fight, and we must do everything to be part of the overall normalization effort.”
The government led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, however, that failure to defeat Hamas could undermine Israel's authority in the eyes of the United States' Sunni Arab allies in the region.
Prepared by: Sergei Daga