Regarding Normalization Of Relations With Saudi Arabia, Senior Israeli Official: Too Early

Israeli flag illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Zachi Evenor)

JAKARTA - A senior Israeli lawmaker said on Sunday the restoration of relations with Saudi Arabia did not appear to be happening in the near future, citing what he described as important points in the ongoing negotiations between Riyadh and US mediators.

US President Joe Biden, who has sent his national security adviser to Saudi Arabia to discuss a possible normalization agreement with Israel that he considers a policy priority, said on Friday, "there is a possible connection recovery that is ongoing".

The idea has been discussed since Saudi Arabia gave strict approval to neighboring countries in the Gulf region, such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to establish relations with Israel in 2020. However, Riyadh has not followed suit, saying Palestinian demands must be met first.

"I think it's too early to talk about a deal that is in progress," Yuli Edelstein, head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and senior member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, told Israeli Army Radio. July 30.

He further dismissed the possibility of a deadlock between PM Netanyahu's far-right government and the politically divided Palestinian state goal is a major obstacle.

"How should I say it carefully? There are clauses that are much more important or problematic than this declaration and that is in the Palestinian territories," he said.

"Most of the Saudi discourse is on America, and not on us," he added, saying that in terms of Riyadh's demands against Washington, "there are some things we can accept better, and some that we cannot accept properly."

Meanwhile, Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, who was asked by reporters when he entered a weekly cabinet meeting whether there would be progress in talks with Saudi Arabia, said: "I hope so."

Saudi Arabia is seeking US cooperation in building a civilian nuclear program in its country. US and Israeli media have also reported Saudi Arabia's efforts to increase US defense imports.

Separately, PM Netanyahu said on Sunday, Israel would build an expansion of a railway line worth 100 billion shekels (US$27 billion) that would connect remote areas to the metropolitan Tel Aviv and, in the future, provide land routes to Saudi Arabia.