Driven largely by their shared fears of Iran’s hegemonic ambitions, Israel and Saudi Arabia inched closer to one another in recent years, cooperating on regional matters and raising hopes in both Jerusalem and Washington that Riyadh would soon agree to normalize relations with the Jewish state fully.

In a sense, Saudi-Israeli normalization (that is, the establishment of standard diplomatic relations) between them could represent a fitting capstone to the extraordinary regional developments that unfolded after Hamas’ slaughter of 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023. Israel’s broad military response severely weakened not only Iran but also the most important terrorist proxies in its “axis of resistance,” Hezbollah and Hamas. All of that greatly benefited both Riyadh and Jerusalem by significantly reducing the military threat that Tehran posed.

In the tumultuous Middle East, however, coalitions come and go, new alliances arise in response to perceived new threats, and hopes for long-term regional stability fall victim to the new ambitions of key players.

So it is with the Saudi-Israeli relationship. Riyadh and Jerusalem are no longer on a path to normalization, as they seemed to be in the days leading up to October 7. Recently, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has been harshly criticizing Israeli behavior and building a new regional bloc to counterbalance the growing alliance between Israel and the United Arab Emirates........

© The National Interest