With a pending Gaza ceasefire and Donald Trump returning as US president, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader must now decide whether to recognise Israel before a Palestinian state is created.
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For Trump, normalisation of Israeli-Saudi ties would be the deal of all deals. But Riyadh has insisted a Palestinian state must be established before such a historic move can be agreed.
The announcement of a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, set to begin the day before Trump takes the oath of office on Monday, only increases the pressure on Riyadh to edge towards a deal.
Saudi Arabia hailed the pending Gaza truce, but insists on “complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces” from the devastated Palestinian territory.
Riyadh paused tentative talks on normalising ties with Israel early in the Gaza conflict and hardened its rhetoric as the war continued.
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For the Saudis, “a credible, time-bound, and non-reversible pathway towards the creation of a Palestinian state remains the minimal prerequisite for normalisation with Israel,” said Firas Maksad of the Washington-based Middle East Institute.