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Israeli FM: Saudi Arabia visit ‘on table’, an Arab country to normalize ties in 2023

Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Wednesday that a visit to Saudi Arabia was an option “on the table” and added that an Arab country will normalize ties with Israel this year.

“This [visit to Saudi Arabia] is on the table, [but] there’s no date [set] yet,” Cohen told Israel’s Army Radio, adding that at least one Arab country would join the Abraham Accords this year, without providing any more details.

Israel, since the signing of the US-sponsored Abraham Accords normalizing ties with UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, has continued to seek expanding the initiative to additional countries. Israeli top brass has repeatedly stressed that establishing ties with Saudi Arabia would be the ultimate achievement and would be pivotal to establishing peace in the region.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stated that any kind of peace accord or deal to normalize ties with Israel would be preconditioned on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Israeli officials have touted Iran and its threat to the region – including its nuclear program, ballistic missiles arsenal, and its interference through arming and financing militias in countries such as Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria – as a shared enemy with Arab countries.

Cohen reiterated Tel Aviv’s narrative that Israel was not Saudi Arabia’s enemy, rather that the Kingdom’s enemy is Iran. Asked about the China-brokered deal normalizing ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran announced last month, Cohen said it could work in Israel’s favor.

“It is precisely this thing that can lead to a balancing act of [Saudi Arabia] moving closer to Israel,” he said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia would serve as a “giant leap” towards ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.

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