A deal that could change the face of Middle East politics

Like most Arab countries, Saudi Arabia has never recognised Israel since its founding in 1948. 

In principle, it will go on ostracising Israel until it permits the creation of a Palestinian state, said Patrick Kingsley in The New York Times. For decades, relations between the two countries have therefore been scarred by mutual distrust. But all that could be about to change. 

In recent months, Riyadh has signalled it may be ready to normalise ties with Jerusalem as part of a US-brokered deal, a deal that could "pave the way for the rest of the Muslim world to follow suit". Hopes of a breakthrough were further raised last week, with the first ever public visit by an Israeli minister to Saudi Arabia, and a return visit by a Saudi envoy to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu claims the two countries are now "at the cusp" of a deal.

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'A game changer'

Such an agreement could be a "game-changer" in so many ways, said Ruth Wasserman Lande in The Jerusalem Post. It would "legitimise Israel in the eyes of a long list of Muslim countries", thereby allowing Jerusalem to promote its interests in the region. It would mean Riyadh could get US support in its efforts to develop a civilian nuclear programme. It would strengthen defence ties between the countries, and in doing so reduce the threat posed by Iran's nuclear programme. And it would give Joe Biden a major foreign policy breakthrough to promote ahead of next year's US presidential election.

Whatever the merits of this deal, said The Economist, it won't be an easy one to secure. Many Saudis are sceptical of closer ties with Israel, and Riyadh's expressed desire to win concessions on behalf of Palestine is anathema to many in Netanyahu's hardline government. As for Biden, he'll struggle to sell the prospect of a Saudi nuclear programme to the US public, and will also face stiff opposition from progressives in his own party, who "abhor the Saudis' human-rights record".

'Any diplomatic agreement preferable to war'

Undeniably, it would be a "rotten deal with a rotten regime", said Gideon Levy in Haaretz (Tel Aviv). Only two years ago, the US was accusing Riyadh of responsibility for the murder in Istanbul of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And like its predecessor, the 2020 Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel, Bahrain and the UAE, it will do nothing to address the suffering of the Palestinians. But granted all that, "history has taught us that any diplomatic agreement is always preferable to the alternative of war". That is why we must support the Israeli PM's efforts to bring it about, "even if his name is Benjamin Netanyahu".