Posted on 12/24/2022 9:05:32 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Israel’s incoming prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that the US must "reaffirm" its alliance with Saudi Arabia and that he will seek normalization with Riyadh once in office.
"I think that the alliance, the traditional (US) alliance with Saudi Arabia and other countries, has to be reaffirmed. There should not be periodic swings, or even wild swings in this relationship, because I think that the alliance between America’s allies and with America is the anchor of stability in our region," Netanyahu recently told Al-Arabiya English.
Netanyahu’s comments come after the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress called for a change in the US-Saudi relationship in response to OPEC+ oil production cuts in October. But the administration has taken no concrete steps toward that end and worked this week to sabotage a war powers resolution that would have ended US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
Netanyahu said that he intends to discuss the Saudi relationship with President Biden. "I think it requires periodic reaffirmation, and I’m to speak to President Biden about it," he said.
The incoming prime minister said that he wants to build on the Abraham Accords, which his former government signed in 2020 to establish diplomatic ties with Bahrain and the UAE. Netanyahu said it’s "up to the leadership of Saudi Arabia if they want to partake in this effort."
Saudi officials recently reaffirmed that they seek a Palestinian state as a precondition for normalizing with Israel. But in order to form a coalition government, Netanyahu gave Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist settler, sweeping powers over the West Bank.
Smotrich will take a new minister position in the Israeli Defense Ministry and will be put in charge of a unit that deals with settler construction and the demolition of Palestinian construction. The appointment is seen as speeding up Israel’s de facto annexation of the West Bank.
Netanyahu insisted in the interview that he will be making the decisions over issues in the West Bank and said he would work toward a peace deal with the Palestinians. “All the decisions will be made by me and the defense minister, and that’s actually in the coalition agreement,” he said.
But Netanyahu significantly expanded settlements in the West Bank during his time as prime minister and was hoping to annex areas designated to Israel under a "peace plan" devised by the Trump administration. He only backed down on the plan before signing the Abraham Accords but continued settlement expansion.
Thank you Donald Trump...
Hopefully it won’t lead to the overthrow of the House of Saud, as detestable as they are, the alternative would be worse.
What f king stability is he talking about?
Right now, the House of Saud is ruled by MBS. He's a moderate. But who will be his successor? The Saudis are all a bunch of Wahhabists and they believe that other folks who are not a Sunni is an infidel.
Ping
(The incoming prime minister said that he wants to build on the Abraham Accords)
Here comes 7 years of ‘Peace and Security’
And the debut of Satan’s anti-messiah
Just as prophesied
When will it be ‘confirmed’?
Only the Lord knows for sure
But it seems well on its way
I wish Bibi the best, but he’ll have to take Israel far closer to the China/Russia side to have close relations with Saudi Arabia.
While most of the world hasn’t yet noticed, Saudi Arabia is practically done being friends with the US...and is now moving into the BRICs Camp. We can thank the Neocon War in Ukraine for that strategic disaster.
Not quite true. The Shiites are mostly in the Eastern province and the Wahhabis are mixed through out the Kingdom.
I was in Qatif, the forbidden city, once and saw the after math of the military helicopter attacks. Mid 90s.
We waited a good portion of 80 years to get a good peace
process going, and as soon as we do, folks pounce on it.
It’s not wow, the Trump peace dividend keeps on paying
off. Now, it’s fire and brimstone revelation!!!
We have some of the stupidest people known to mankind.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.