Pathway to Peace?

Since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, which normalized relations between several Arab nations and Israel, there has been widespread speculation that Saudi Arabia and Israel might also do the same. Saudi Arabia is the de facto capital of the Sunni Islamic world, so a normalization agreement between the two would have a dramatic impact on the Middle East. In fact, both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made statements to this effect last year.

On September 20, 2023, MBS stated:

“Every day we get closer [to Saudi normalization with Israel]. It seems it’s for the first time real, serious. A pact [between the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Israel] would be the biggest historical deal since the Cold War.”