A top White House official presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a proposal that would see the war in Gaza end, the hostages released, and an improvement in ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel. The Biden administration has been fixated on its plan to have Arab states rebuild Gaza and develop official ties with Tel Aviv in exchange for incentives from the US.
On Sunday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan offered Washington and Ryiadh’s position on a ceasefire, hostage release, and improving ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Not all the details of the plan have been made public, including what the US offered to the Kingdom to incentivize them into agreeing to improve ties with Tel Aviv. This comes as Israeli leaders are facing prosecution for war crimes.
The proposal appeared to be a scaled-down version of a White House plan that would see Saudi Arabia normalize ties with Israel and rebuild Gaza; in exchange, Ryiadh would get nuclear technology, weapons, and a security guarantee from Washington.
While the new offer to Tel Aviv is more limited, it is unlikely to be agreed to by Netanyahu who has vowed to continue the Israeli military operations in Gaza. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has indicated any deal with Israel would be contingent on putting Palestine on the path to statehood, something Netanyahu has pledged he would never allow to happen.
The White House has attempted to use normalization with Saudi Arabia as a carrot to get Israel to end the onslaught in Gaza. However, President Biden has failed to use Washington’s massive aid to Tel Aviv as leverage to force Israel to end its war on Palestinians.
According to a press release on Sullivan’s meeting with top Israeli officials, the top aide “reaffirmed the need for Israel to connect its military operations to a political strategy that can ensure the lasting defeat of Hamas, the release of all the hostages, and a better future for Gaza.” The statement is an admission that while Biden has provided nearly unconditional support for Tel Aviv’s destruction of Israel, the White House still does not know what Netanyahu’s plans for Gaza are.
