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Israel-Saudi Arabia relations

US President Donald Trump (C) speaks during the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)
May 25, 2026, 2:59 am
Trump reportedly asked Muslim, Arab leaders to normalize ties with Israel if Iran deal reached
Request was met with silence on call with Middle Eastern leaders, Axios reports; it comes as Israeli officials said alarmed that emerging deal ‘does not serve Israel’s interest’
By ToI Staff, Stav Levaton and AFP
An intercepted projectile falls into the sea near Dubai's Palm Jumeirah archipelago on March 1, 2026. (FADEL SENNA / AFP)
March 5, 2026, 8:03 pm
Iran’s strikes on Arab states open door to new Gulf approach toward Israel
As Israel reportedly aids defense of US allies in region, pathways to new alliances could emerge. But shared threat of Iran hasn’t pushed Gulf states into Israel’s arms yet
By Nava Freiberg
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman walks to his seat after speaking during the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center, November 19, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
February 8, 2026, 7:56 pm
Saudi source: Israel criticism not antisemitic, Netanyahu doesn’t want normalization
After ADL sounded alarm about shift in Saudi media coverage of Israel and Jews, royal family source insists to Kan that Riyadh has ‘no hostility,’ just issues with Israeli policy
By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman speaks at the Saudi-US Investment Forum at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
February 8, 2026, 1:53 pm
Relax, MBS isn’t aligning with Islamists. He also isn’t normalizing with Israel soon
Recent moves by Saudi Arabia against the UAE and toward Qatar and Turkey, along with a rise in antisemitism in the Saudi press, have alarmed many, but these processes are not new
By Lazar Berman
Rabbi Jacob Yisrael Herzog in Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, November 2021. (Courtesy)
December 25, 2025, 6:34 am
Self-appointed chief rabbi of Saudi Arabia says he was denied entry at border
Rabbi Jacob Herzog, who splits his time between Riyadh and Jerusalem, says he has a valid entry visa, received no explanation for the decision
By Grace Gilson
Saudi Arabia's former intelligence minister Prince Turki bin Faisal al-Saud attends the meeting of foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on March 30, 2017. (FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP)
December 22, 2025, 4:49 pm
Ex-Saudi intel chief to ToI: Riyadh will consider normalization when Israel acts normally
In very rare engagement with Israeli media, Prince Turki bin Faisal says kingdom won’t forge ties with Israel without ‘resolution to Palestinian issue entailing two-state solution’
By Jacob Magid
US President Donald Trump (right) and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman watch F-35s and F-15s fly over during a welcome ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, November 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
December 7, 2025, 3:27 pm
Saudi F-35 sale triggers Israeli concern, though military edge may remain intact
Experts say Israel’s air superiority can withstand US sending advanced fighter jets to Riyadh, but worry deal puts normalization on ice and could trigger regional arms race
By Stav Levaton
Screen capture from video of Saudi Cabinet member of the Minister of Foreign Affairs's Manal Radwan, attending the opening day of the Doha Forum, an annual diplomatic conference, in Doha on December 6, 2025. (YouTube)
December 7, 2025, 11:09 am
Senior Saudi diplomat: It’s Israel, not PA, that most needs reform to secure peace
Manal Radwan says Palestinian Authority is already working on reforms, but Israeli government opposes two-state solution, incites against Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims
By Jacob Magid
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East, in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)
December 5, 2025, 3:31 pm
ToI reveals: US and Saudis reached understandings on Palestinian component of normalization before Oct. 7
On eve of Hamas attack, Blinken was scheduled to visit Israel to discuss document compiled with Riyadh that detailed relatively minor concessions PM would have to make to Palestinians
By Jacob Magid
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his aircraft before his departure from King Hussein International Airport in Jordan's southern Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba, Jordan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)
December 5, 2025, 3:27 pm
The day after that never came: How time ran out on Blinken’s plan for postwar Gaza
Top Biden diplomat’s proposal sought to end the war while reviving the Saudi normalization talks derailed on Oct. 7. But he couldn’t get it finalized, and Trump now faces many of the same obstacles
By Jacob Magid
Andrew Ross Sorkin interviews Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remotely onstage during The New York Times DealBook Summit 2025 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 03, 2025 in New York City (David Dee Delgado / Getty Images via AFP)
December 4, 2025, 4:25 am
Netanyahu doubles down on assertion he’ll visit NYC once Mamdani becomes mayor
PM says he’s open to speaking with mayor-elect if latter agrees to recognize Israel as Jewish state, declines to say when he’ll retire, insists he enjoys widespread public support
By AFP and ToI Staff
US President Donald Trump (right) meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, November 18, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP)
December 1, 2025, 2:51 am
As Trump and Saudi prince heat up ties, Israel normalization left out in the cold
MBS notched important gains in Washington, rehabilitating Riyadh after it was sidelined by Israel and Qatar and likely stiffening the kingdom’s price for joining the Abraham Accords
By Lazar Berman
Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen speaks at a conference of the Makor Rishon newspaper at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, February 21, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90/ File)
November 27, 2025, 11:32 pm
Ex-Mossad chief says Israeli operatives are active on Iranian soil, ‘not by proxy’
In recordings obtained by Haaretz from closed-door conference, Yossi Cohen suggests Saudi normalization can manage to ‘skip over the Palestinian issue’
By Stav Levaton and Nava Freiberg
US President Donald Trump (right) meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, November 18, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP)
November 26, 2025, 4:03 am
Saudi crown prince’s pushback on Israel normalization reportedly irked Trump
Israeli TV report says US president was ‘disappointed and angry’ after MBS cited domestic opposition to normalizing ties with Jewish state
By Nava Freiberg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives an interview to the Abu Ali Express Telegram channel, which aired November 20, 2025. (Abu Ali Express screenshot/Telegram)
November 21, 2025, 12:31 am
Netanyahu: ‘There will not be a Palestinian state,’ even at cost of ties with Saudis
In interview with Telegram channel, PM says border deal with Syria ‘preferable’ but won’t budge on security demands; Israel to boost arms industry to ease reliance on US
By Nava Freiberg and Lazar Berman
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