U.S.: Normalization With Saudis Must Include Palestinian Concessions

If the possibility of a "deal of the century" between Israel and Saudi Arabia is ever to become a reality, it will not be without significant concessions to the Palestinians on the part of the Hebrew state, Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed to Ron Dermer during his visit to Washington last week.

Four current and former US administration officials told Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, in an article published on the Axios news website, that White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Tony Blinken had discussed with Dermer the need for Israeli concessions for the Palestinians as part of any normalization deal with the Saudis.

Sullivan also informed Dermer that Biden was seeking broad support from congressional Democrats for a mega-agreement with Saudi Arabia, a source close to the matter told Axios. 

To achieve this, Sullivan insisted that serious Israeli measures towards the Palestinians were essential. For his part, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Ron Dermer against any "misinterpretation" of the situation by the Israeli government.

According to Axios sources, Dermer had not demonstrated any real willingness on the part of the Israeli government to make concessions in order to reach an agreement with the Saudis. 

For that reason, Blinken insisted that Saudi Arabia had to show the Arab and Muslim world that it had obtained important results from Israel regarding the Palestinians in exchange for a normalization agreement, the officials said.