Biden Administration Missed 2021 Saudi Offer to Normalize With Israel
Translated & summarized from Cursorinfo by baba
Former White House official Brett McGurk revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman offered to normalize ties with Israel in early 2021, but the Biden administration missed the opportunity. McGurk admitted this was a "serious mistake" that delayed progress by 18 months. By October 2023, an agreement was close, but the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 derailed the process. McGurk suggested Hamas may have aimed to prevent this normalization.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman offered to normalize ties with Israel in early 2021, according to Brett McGurk.
- The Biden administration missed this opportunity, delaying potential normalization by 18 months, McGurk stated.
- An agreement was nearing completion by October 2023, with a meeting held on October 6.
- The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, significantly complicated normalization efforts.
- McGurk suggested Hamas may have attacked to prevent Saudi-Israeli normalization.
A former White House official revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was ready to normalize relations with Israel as early as 2021, aiming for an agreement within three years. Brett McGurk, who was the White House Coordinator for the Middle East at the time, stated that the Biden administration overlooked this opportunity, delaying progress by about 18 months. McGurk recounted that during his January 2021 visit to Saudi Arabia, shortly after Biden's inauguration, he met with the Crown Prince. The initial agenda was tense, with the U.S. signaling an end to offensive weapons sales and considering sanctions over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Despite the difficult atmosphere, McGurk asked about the Crown Prince's three-year strategic goals. Mohammed bin Salman outlined priorities including indirect dialogue with Iran and ending the war in Yemen, but crucially, he emphasized the need for strong U.S.-Saudi ties and expressed readiness to move towards recognizing Israel. McGurk recalled the Crown Prince stating normalization was an achievable goal within three years. However, the U.S. administration, including McGurk himself, underestimated the diplomatic potential and failed to act decisively.
McGurk admitted his own underestimation and called the missed opportunity a "serious mistake," noting that substantive work on a historic agreement could have begun much earlier. The situation shifted in February 2022 with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, leading to increased oil prices and prompting the Biden administration to re-engage with Saudi Arabia on various fronts, including normalization with Israel.
By the fall of 2023, significant progress had been made, with an agreement nearing completion. McGurk met with a Saudi delegation led by Ambassador to the U.S. Princess Rima bint Bandar on October 6, 2023, and they agreed on a timeline to finalize the deal by the end of 2023 and announce it in early 2024. However, the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, drastically altered the regional landscape, complicating the prospects for normalization. McGurk suggested that preventing a Saudi-Israeli rapprochement might have been one of Hamas's objectives, though he presented this as a possibility rather than a proven motive.
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