New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman warned US President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman against becoming “useful idiots” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the pursuit of an Saudi-Israel normalization deal that does not advance a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Biden administration is intensifying efforts to broker a normalization agreement between Saudi-Israel.
Friedman argued that any deal that moves toward the goal of two separate states for Israelis and Palestinians would likely collapse Netanyahu’s government, which is made up primarily of opponents of Palestinian statehood.
“You cannot have normalization with an Israeli government that is not normal,” Friedman wrote. “It will never be a stable US ally or Saudi partner. And right now, Israel’s government is not normal.”
Friedman’s column comes as the Biden administration is intensifying efforts to broker a normalization agreement between Saudi-Israel. The administration is considering Saudi requests for a significant defense pact with the US, as well as American support for a civilian nuclear program. In return, Riyadh is expected to distance itself from Russia and China both economically and militarily.
The agreement would also require Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians, such as freezing settlement construction in the West Bank and declaring that the goal of the diplomatic process is a two-state solution.
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Netanyahu has argued that the Palestinian aspect of the deal will have minimal substance, as Riyadh is not as concerned about the issue as some might believe.
Friedman urged Biden and MBS to reject any deal that does not include significant concessions to the Palestinians. He said that such a deal would only serve to strengthen Netanyahu’s hand and make it more difficult to achieve a lasting peace.
“The only way to get Netanyahu to make peace with the Palestinians is to make him choose between annexation and normalization,” Friedman wrote. “And the only way to do that is to insist on real Palestinian concessions in any normalization deal.”
Friedman’s column is likely to be seen as a major intervention in the debate over the Saudi-Israel normalization deal. It remains to be seen whether Biden and MBS will heed Friedman’s advice.
Source: Times Of Israel