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Reuters cited a Saudi source with strong ties to those concerned that Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz was not informed of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret visit to Saudi Arabia.
The source and a foreign diplomat in Riyadh said the Saudi monarch had not seen the visit, which the Kingdom denied, noting that Riyadh is not expected to take steps to normalize relations with Israel while King Salman is still alive.
The two sources described the possible normalization with Israel as a “carrot” to divert the attention of the presumed winner of the US presidential election, Joe Biden, from other issues, especially the kingdom’s human rights record.
Despite the Saudi denial, “Reuters” quoted diplomats from the region as saying that US envoys confirmed in private meetings the authenticity of reports of the secret meeting between Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the city of Neom, in the presence of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Reuters reported that the historic meeting sent “a strong message to allies and foes alike that the two countries remain firmly committed to containing their common adversary, Iran.”
But the US “Wall Street Journal” said Netanyahu returned to Israel disappointed after the meeting with Bin Salman.
The Wall Street Journal quoted Saudi advisers and US officials as saying that when Netanyahu flew to NEOM, accompanied by Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, he and his allies in Washington were hoping to get assurances from Bin Salman that a normalization deal could be concluded. between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Instead, “Netanyahu came back empty-handed. As Mike Pompeo watched the possible culmination of the (US President Donald’s) Trump administration’s efforts to reorganize the region’s policies and build a bulwark against Iran, slipping out of their hands.” the newspaper reported.
Postponement, not withdrawal
But bin Salman, according to the “Wall Street Journal”, backed down to reach an agreement “largely due to the results of the US elections.” Saudi advisers told the newspaper that bin Salman is excited about building new relationships with the administration of President-elect Joe Biden, and that he was reluctant to take the normalization step now “as long as he can use this agreement later to help build relations with Biden. “
Saudi officials told the newspaper that a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia under the auspices of the new president would likely put relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States on a solid footing.
US officials in the newspaper listed other factors in bin Salman’s decline, including the split between King Salman and his son on how to tackle the Palestinian issue, “so the Palestinians are still seeking their own state.”
The “Wall Street Journal” quoted King Salman’s advisers that he “was aware” of his son’s contacts with Israel, but that his poor health prevented him from absorbing its full scope.
US officials told the newspaper that “Saudi Arabia is trying to figure out how best to use this (normalization) to repair its image in Washington and show goodwill to Biden and Congress.” However, the lack of a “breakthrough” last Sunday does not mean there will be no deal at the end, according to the newspaper, which quoted US officials as “the possibility of securing a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia before Trump leaves. the White House seems scarce, but not impossible. “
Saudi officials said the NEOM meeting was not intended to end the negotiations, but rather to agree on what Saudi Arabia could offer the Palestinians. The newspaper revealed that bin Salman secretly approved, in the weeks leading up to the US elections, most of the terms of the US plan announced by Trump (the Deal of the Century).
The “Wall Street Journal” said the meeting with Netanyahu, as the leader of the most armed country in the region, was crucial to any alliance against Iran, and Bin Salman pushed the Israelis into greater security cooperation against Iran in addition to investing in NEOM.
But bin Salman also hoped to recruit a key US ally to support Saudi Arabia if it came under pressure from the Biden administration. Bin Salman worked hard to repair his image after the murder of opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi. At the time, Trump supported Bin Salman, but Biden’s election raised the alarm in Saudi Arabia of “a belated but severe revenge,” according to the newspaper.
A Saudi adviser told the newspaper that bin Salman told Israelis that “it will be revealed that Biden imposed sanctions on Saudi officials because of Khashoggi. So I want them by my side.”
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