Washington and Riyadh are close to finalizing details of a defense pact, but the Gaza war must end for that agreement and the one regarding normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia to be completed, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Thursday.
“There are a few details [on the defense pact] that we have to continue to work through, but we think we can reach agreement on those details in very short order,” Miller said.
“We are very far along,” he said.
He explained, however, that this defense agreement is just one part of a triad understanding that would also see a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia and would set out a pathway for Palestinian statehood.
Miller clarified that it would not be possible to move forward on the package as long as the Gaza war continued.
“Saudi Arabia has been very clear there will be no agreement in this regard while the conflict is raging,” Miller said, adding that Riyadh had two requirements for an agreement: calm in Gaza and a path to Palestinian statehood.
“We might reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia on what this package ought to look like. But in terms of an actual deal that includes normalization with Israel, there needs to be calm in Gaza,” he stressed.
Triad Saudi agreement interrupted due to war
The US had been deep into negotiating the triad Saudi agreement, often referred to as the normalization deal, in the fall. Those efforts were scuttled by Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel on October 7.
At the time, it was believed that the schedule for approval was tight due to the US presidential elections, and that time frame is even tighter now.
Washington, however, has moved forward anyway on as many elements of the agreement as it can, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman earlier this week to discuss the issues relating to this deal.
He also had conversations with other Arab foreign ministers about including the future of Gaza and its rehabilitation into that agreement, Miller said.
“We were looking at not just a path to two states, but also the reconstruction of Gaza, governance in Gaza [and] security for Gaza. So we’re working on all of those; some pieces are further along than others,” he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long spoken of a Saudi normalization deal, which was one of his top goals for his new government when it entered office. He had hoped that Israel would only need to give a nod in the direction of Palestinian statehood to finalize the deal.
In the aftermath of October 7, that has not appeared to be possible. He would now have to overcome objections from the right-wing members of his coalition to move forward on the deal.
The Knesset voted this winter against unilateral Palestinian statehood, approving a declaration stating that such a step could only come about through direct talks between the parties.
The document, which satisfied Netanyahu’s right-wing partners, is viewed as a document that would allow the Saudi deal to move forward in a de-facto way.
Miller stressed that Palestinian statehood was important to the Saudis and that details relating to the “establishment of an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel” had been under discussion and would be part of the overall package.
He dismissed reports that there was an attempt to break off the US-Saudi defense component of the overall deal, so that it could be approved, explaining that all the components would be advanced together.
Miller stressed that approval of the Saudi deal was important for Israel’s security, adding that “we believe broader integration is key to Israel’s long-term security.
“It’s not just the right thing to do for the Palestinian people. It is very much the right thing to do... to answer their legitimate political aspirations.”
A normalization deal with Saudi Arabia would isolate Iran and help Israel address the issues of what will happen in Gaza once the war is over, Miller said, including reconstruction and security.
He said that if this deal is approved, it would achieve the goal Israel has had since it was founded in 1948, which is “normal relations with its neighbors.”