Netanyahu says peace with Saudis could lead to Israel-Palestine resolution

In a rare interview with a Saudi-owned outlet, Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his hopes on Thursday in reaching peace with both Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians, alluding that it would dramatically open the door for peace with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu told Al-Arabiya, a Saudi owned satellite channel based in Dubai, that his goal is to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020, and that established normalization of ties between Israel on the one hand and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan on the other. This expansion would include Saudi Arabia, he said. 

“I think the peace with Saudi Arabia will serve two purposes. It will be a quantum leap for an overall peace between Israel and the Arab world. It will change our region in ways that are unimaginable. And I think it will facilitate, ultimately, a Palestinian-Israeli peace. I believe in that. I intend to pursue it,” he said.

Netanyahu reiterated his willingness to enter talks with Arab and Palestinian leaders.

“I think we can end the Arab-Israeli conflict and achieve peace with the Palestinians. We just have to be creative about it. … I look forward to having the opportunity to discuss this with the Arab leaders and with the Palestinians themselves.”

Netanyahu noted steps taken under his previous government to improve the lives of Palestinians, and accused the Palestinian leadership for refusing to accept the right of the State of Israel to exist, as reason for the political deadlock on the way to resolving the conflict. Settlements growth and threats of annexation of occupied Palestinian lands grew during Netanyahu, while working directly with the Donald Trump administration to cut aid for the Palestinian Authority. 

He said that normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia could serve as a ladder for the Palestinians leadership to climb down the tree of refusing to recognize Israel, thus opening the way to talks.

Referring to the role of Washington in advancing peace in the Middle East, Netanyahu said he will bring up relations with Saudi Arabia when he first meets US President Joe Biden in his renewed position as Israel’s prime minister.

“I think that there is a need for a reaffirmation of America’s commitment to its traditional allies in the Middle East. Israel, of course, is there and we’ve had a solid, unbreakable relationship. But I think that the alliance, the traditional alliance with Saudi Arabia and other countries, has to be reaffirmed,” Netanyahu continued.

For many years, Netanyahu had argued that Israel must make peace first with the Arab nations and then with the Palestinians. While hailing the Abraham Accords, some of his opponents in Israel blamed him for using these agreements to avoid dealing with the Palestinian issue and misusing them to isolate the Palestinian leadership.

In July 2020, three months before the signing of the Abraham Accords, Netanyahu had contemplated annexation of parts of the West Bank, but stopped short following American pressure and internal political instability in Israel.

Since the Abraham Accords, including in the last election campaign, Netanyahu has repeatedly expressed his desire to reach peace with Saudi Arabia.

In 2020, Israeli media revealed that Netanyahu had met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the futuristic city of Neom — a meeting that was arranged by then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Reports suggested then that the Saudis were unwilling to discuss normalization, and that the meeting was focused on the Iranian threat. Publication of the meeting had apparently angered the Saudis, who had expected it to remain covert.