Leading countries of the Arab world are ready to “fully recognize” Israel in exchange for a future deal on a Palestinian state, Joe Biden said. This will not be done right now, but a solution must be found for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict after the operation in the Gaza Strip is over, the US president made clear.
Along with his predecessors, democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Biden participated in a campaign fundraising event in New York. At least four times he was interrupted by Palestinian supporters, Bloomberg writes. After one such remark, Biden said: “I’ve worked with the Saudis and with all the other Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Qatar. They are ready to fully recognize Israel. There has to be a post-Gaza plan, and there has to be a concession in exchange for a two-state solution. It doesn’t have to happen today. There has to be a gradual movement, and I think we can achieve that”.
Before the Hamas terrorist group invaded Israeli territories on October 7, 2023, Tel Aviv was able to negotiate diplomatic relations with several Arab states. Over the past three years, it has signed treaties to that effect with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Before the terrorist attack, Israel was negotiating, with U.S. mediation, to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. The prospect of Riyadh recognizing Israel, according to some experts, was one of the reasons for the Hamas attack; a representative of the group said the same thing after the attack. Its leaders tried, in particular, to prevent further rapprochement between Israel and Arab states.
Washington’s relations with Tel Aviv have become markedly strained in recent weeks. The Biden administration insists that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, in exchange for the release of some of the hostages taken on October 7, suspend the operation in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid there. Rafah is now crowded with about a million Palestinians who were forced to flee the northern and central parts of the Strip because of the Israeli offensive.
Israel canceled a visit by a government delegation to Washington after the US backed a UN resolution for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
