Middle East: towards a normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia?

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Benett, during the Council of Ministers in Jerusalem, December 19, 2021 (Illustration image).

AP - Abir Sultan

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Ahead of a possible Iranian nuclear deal, there is increasing talk of a normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The media in Israel and elsewhere give information on this subject which remains surrounded by the greatest discretion. 

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With our correspondent in Jerusalem

,

In just one month, US President Joe Biden will visit Jerusalem and probably Bethlehem as well.

And it is in this perspective that American diplomacy is working to bring about a rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

According to the daily

, which publishes a series of articles on this subject, Washington is organizing meetings between Israeli and Saudi personalities.

The goal, according to the Israeli newspaper, is to set up a regional security axis that would allow coordination between Israel, Jordan, Egypt, the Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia. 

Saudi investments in Israeli start-ups

According to the news site 

, American diplomats are negotiating the application of an agreement to transfer the islands of Tiran and Sanafir in the Red Sea from Egypt to Saudi Arabia.

The complete return of these two uninhabited islets is of capital strategic interest to Israel and would pave the way for Israeli-Saudi normalization. 

And in the meantime, for the first time, according to the

, Riyadh will publicly invest millions of dollars in Israeli start-ups.

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• Israel

• Saudi Arabia

• United States