Security & Diplomacy
A deal with Saudi Arabia
Israel should normalise with Riyadh, even at the price of Palestinian concessions.
Riyadh was negotiating before October 7. Saudi Arabia now publicly conditions normalisation on a credible path to a Palestinian state.
What is at stake
The 2020 Abraham Accords normalised relations with the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. Saudi Arabia — home to Islam's holiest sites and the largest Gulf economy — was negotiating before October 7. Riyadh now says publicly that normalisation requires a credible path to Palestinian statehood. So the Israeli argument is about the price.
The case for
- It is the largest strategic prize on the table: a regional line-up against Iran, anchored by the United States.
- Normalisation opens trade and air routes to Asia and legitimises Israel across the Sunni world.
- The opening may not come back. A defined political horizon costs less than permanent isolation in the region.
The case against
- Concessions on the Palestinian file are irreversible. A signature can be frozen whenever Riyadh chooses.
- Saudi Arabia needs Israeli technology and the American alliance either way. It will come to terms without payment up front.
- Israel should not pay in territory or statehood for a deal driven first by Saudi and American interests.
Both sides get the same number of points at comparable length. That is a rule of this site, not a coincidence.
What the next Knesset could decide
Any normalisation treaty and its Palestinian components would go to the government and then to the Knesset. Coalition agreements can bar such concessions in advance, and the government sets the negotiating mandate with Washington and Riyadh.