Biden tells Israeli TV that Saudi-Israeli normalization will ‘take a long time’

US President Joe Biden tells Israel’s Channel 12 news that while he hopes to begin building closer ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, full normalization will “take a long time.”

In an interview with the network’s Yonit Levi recorded yesterday evening at the White House, Biden says that his direct flight between Israel and Saudi Arabia is “about stability in the Middle East.”

“It’s in the overwhelming interest of the United States of America to have more stability in the Middle East,” Biden says. “It’s in the overwhelming interest of the United States and the region for Israel to be more integrated in the region and accepted as an equal.”

In addition, Biden says, “the more Israel is integrated into the region as an equal and accepted, the more likely there is going to be a means that they can eventually come to an accommodation with the Palestinians down the road.”

Full normalization with Saudi Arabia, he says “is going to take a long time.”

“But increasing the relationship in terms of acceptance of each other’s presence, working together on certain things, it all makes sense to me,” the president adds.

When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Biden says, he believes in ongoing dialogue, even if a solution seems far off.

The most recent war between Israel and Gaza, Biden says, “lasted days, not months, because I got deeply involved in talking with all the leadership, whether it was with Israel, with [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas, whether it was with the Egyptians.”

“It always matters to talk, to see if you can reach any consensus even on small things,” he adds.