Normalization

The moment for a Saudi peace initiative has arrived, but on new terms - opinion

As the region’s most influential Arab and Muslim state, Saudi Arabia's choices will shape the trajectory of normalization far beyond its own borders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman
A pro-Palestinian protester flies a "Free Palestine" flag an the Auraria Campus in Denver, Colodaro, May 14, 2024; illustrative.

Majority of young American adults 'active in Hamas resistance,' Khaled Mashaal claims

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman attend the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington on Wednesday. Israel’s quiet over the F-35 deal is part of a strategy, the writer maintains.

‘Which model for the Middle East?’: Trump and MBS bet on a Saudi-centered order - analysis

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman attend the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington on Wednesday. Israel’s quiet over the F-35 deal is part of a strategy, the writer maintains.

Israel's silence over US' F-35 deal with Saudi Arabia is strategy, not indifference - opinion


Push for Saudi peace increases pressure for Israeli concessions to Palestinians

Minister warns entire right wing opposes settlement freezes and withdrawals; Hanegbi: There is still a long road ahead.

 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 6, 2023

Israel-Saudi normalization may be well worth the price - editorial

If normalization with Saudi Arabia means putting the controversial judicial reform on the back burner due to political and diplomatic constraints, that may be a price well worth paying.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman

Biden: This is one of the most extreme Israeli gov'ts I've seen

Biden also said that normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia is still a long way off.

 US President Joe Biden with Israeli opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu on July 14, 2022

Saudi-Israeli integration is more possible than ever - opinion

since Mohammed bin Salman became Crown Prince in 2017, important reforms have reshaped key elements of Saudi Arabia.

 SAUDI AMBASSADOR to Washington Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud has introduced new terminology stating that Saudi Arabia wants integration with Israel. These expressions cannot be ignored, says the writer.

Resolving the Israel-Saudi deadlock

What are the issues that inhibit Saudi Arabia from joining its main Gulf allies, the UAE and Bahrain, in normalizing relations with Israel? 

 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jeddah on June 7, 2023.

What will it take for Israel, Saudi Arabia to normalize ties? - analysis

Focusing on the daily steps towards or away from the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia may be doing more harm than good. A longer-term perspective is needed.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jeddah, earlier this month.

Voices from the Arab press: Israeli threats of war with Iran psychological or inevitable?

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

 HYPING IRAN’S new hypersonic ballistic missile ‘Fattah,’ with text reading ‘400 seconds to Tel Aviv,’ seen on a street in Tehran, June 8.

Israel says hoped-for direct Hajj flights to Saudi Arabia won't happen now

sraeli and US officials had predicted that the kingdom, home to Islam's two holiest sites, might as a goodwill gesture let members of Israel's 18% Muslim minority fly in directly for this year's Hajj

 Muslims perform their evening prayers around the holy Kaaba as they start arriving to perform the annual Haj in the Grand Mosque, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, June 16, 2023.

Israel at odds with US on West Bank homes, says not bound by Aqaba commitments

Israel has pushed back at the US, with the IDF’s Civil Administration expected to convene the Higher Planning Committee for Judea and Samaria for the second time this year

 A construction site of a new residential neighborhood at the mixed religious-secular Jewish settlement in the West Bank Kfar Adumim, March 9, 2023.

Syria comes in from the cold – what does it mean for the Middle East? - opinion

While Syrian opposition and human rights groups protested the immoral nature of rehabilitating Assad’s bloody regime, realpolitik, cynical or not, prevailed

 SAUDI ARABIA’S Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad ahead of the Arab League Summit, in Jeddah, last month.