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Friday, September 6, 2024
Blinken: With Gaza ceasefire, Saudi normalization deal possible before Biden’s term ends
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insists that an Israel-Saudi normalization deal is still possible before the end of US President Joe Biden’s time in office.
He acknowledges that a deal will first require a ceasefire in Gaza along with an Israeli agreement to a “credible pathway for a Palestinian state” — something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has flatly rejected. “A lot of work would have to go into that,” Blinken admits during a press conference in Haiti.
However, he stresses that both Israel and Saudi Arabia have made clear that they’re interested in such an agreement.
“I think if we can get the ceasefire in Gaza, there remains an opportunity through the balance of this administration to move forward on normalization,” Blinken says.
A pair of senior Congressional sources from opposing parties told The Times of Israel in July that the window for a deal before the November election had shut, though, a faint chance for securing an agreement during the lame-duck period remains.
The Times of Israel Community.