Officials in Saudi Arabia are reported to be “optimistic” that they can secure US President Donald Trump’s backing for a fresh Middle East peace deal, including American recognition of a Palestinian state.
The deal, first reported by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, is believed to include provisions for the formalisation of statehood, tied to an end of hostilities in Gaza and normalisation of relations between Israel and Arab states.
Citing an official in the Kingdom’s royal family, the report suggests that some details (including normalisation) remain up for negotiation but that recognition and “war termination” are firm conditions of any agreement.
This would appear to mirror reports last week that the Trump administration had quietly dropped normalisation with Israel as a requirement for agreeing a civil nuclear deal with Riyadh.
The source told Kan that there is a sense of “optimism” among Saudi negotiators that Trump will be willing to back the proposals during his tour of the region this week.
Trump will stop off in Saudi, the UAE and Qatar with the agenda set to include topics ranging from trade and investment to the conflicts in Gaza and Yemen.
However, a stop in Israel is not on the itinerary, with Prime Minister Netanyahu having made the journey to the White House twice since Trump re-took office. Indeed, the Washington Post cited a senior Trump official joking that a face-to-face with Netanyahu was unnecessary as the Israeli leader has already visited Washington “700 times” since November’s election.
The trip holds extra significance for hostage campaigners, though, as Israeli ministers have suggested that the chance of any deal with Hamas to return those still held in Gaza will “vanish” when Trump leaves the region.
The decision not to visit Jerusalem has also deepened concern that the US is increasingly willing to conduct Middle East policy unilaterally regardless of pressure from its key regional allies. Just yesterday, the welcome announcement that American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander would be freed also carried the news that his release was negotiated directly between Washington and Hamas, without consulting Israel.
Likewise, negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal are reported to be less focussed on complete denuclearisation despite that being one of Israel’s key demands.
Instead, Trump – who is understood to hope to further his reputation as a global peacemaker – is reported to be willing to compromise on most of the major issues in the region in order to secure some form of agreement. Key areas include Iran’s nuclear programme, the expansion of the Abraham Accords, a Gaza ceasefire and the reconstruction of Syria.
