The killing of Jamaal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 led to Riyadh facing global flak. US President Joe Biden promised to hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accountable. Everything changed a year later when the US began courting Riyadh to stem the Chinese challenge to its domination i n t h e Middle East . Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, had negotiated the Abraham Accords which resulted in the UAE and Bahrain normalizing ties with Israel.

Biden had to do better and his target was Saudi Arabia. In July 2022, well before the Hamas attack on Israel, during Biden’s visit to Riyadh, Mohammed bin Salman demanded a NATO-type defence pact in return for establishing ties with Israel. Recognition of Israel by Riyadh could change the Middle East landscape. The US suggested similar treaties as existing with a few Asian nations, including Japan and South Korea, or establishing a naval base similar to Bahrain. These actions could avoid Congressional approval, which would then have been difficult. Washington also offered to designate Saudi Arabia as a non-NATO ally, akin to Israel. But the Saudis sought assured guarantees to deter attacks such as the September 2019 Yemeni missile strikes on its oil facilities. For Biden, Riyadh recognizing Tel Aviv would have been a diplomatic victory. The Palestinians were aghast.

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Such an act would reduce support from Arab states and signal the end of a Palestinian state. In May 2024, months after the Hamas attack and Israel’s retaliation, Washington again attempted to push another deal with the Saudis. As per CNN, this deal had three components. The first was a package of agreements between the US and Saudi Arabia, the second, normalization of relations between Riyadh and Israel, and the third was a pathway........

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