An official in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that Saudi Arabia informed the American administration to stop any discussions related to normalization with Israel.
The official pointed out that the opposition of the pillars of Netanyahu’s government to any gesture towards the Palestinians, and Netanyahu’s acceptance of the demands of the pillars of the extreme right, represented by the parties of Itamar Ben Gvir, Minister of National Security, and the party of Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Finance, means torpedoing any possibility of rapprochement with the Palestinians, and thus with the Saudis.
Informed American sources said that Saudi Arabia brought the Palestinians into the discussions in an intelligent manner so that it could decide on the form and date of the agreement with the Israelis and demarcate the borders of their independent state without interference from the outside, and without Israeli imposition, as they tried to do in the Abraham Accords, which did not succeed in reaching any agreement with them. Palestinians.
In addition, the Israeli official confirmed that the United States informed Israel of Saudi Arabia’s decision “to stop any discussions with the Americans regarding normalization or taking any step towards Israel, and that the Israeli leadership is confused about it,” noting that many experts, ministers, and even the prime minister previously believed that Saudi Arabia will agree with them without linking the relationship to the Palestinian issue.
Information indicates that the Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, who is close to Netanyahu and who was ambassador to Washington, leaked fabricated news to the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, which is supportive of the American right and is owned by extremist Republican Jews. What were described – according to the newspaper – as secret meetings between Riyadh and the Israeli Prime Minister. .
An Israeli expert on internal policy affairs said that such a thing happens when all hopes and all plans that were determined by Netanyahu and his team collapse.
The expert, a lecturer at the National Security Platform at the University of Herzliya, added that Netanyahu is extremely angry at the point of leaking something like this, regardless of whether it is true or not. This indicates his despair in the process of pressuring Saudi Arabia for normalization at a crucial stage in the life of his term as Prime Minister.
It is noteworthy in this context that internal disputes in Israel are still raging over the so-called judicial reforms, and that the opposition is still mobilizing hundreds of thousands weekly to demonstrate against the Netanyahu government.
It seems that early elections will be the best solution to get out of the crisis, knowing that the polls clearly indicate the opposition’s progress and the victory of the opposition party of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid in the upcoming elections
Source: Maan News Agency