Trump claims Saudis told him ‘yesterday’ they’re willing to join Abraham Accords
By Jacob Magid and Lazar Berman
While Riyadh has insisted that it needs pathway to Palestinian state, US president reiterates that normalization deals will soon pile up now that Gaza war over, Iran threat neutered
excerpt:
US President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that Saudi officials indicated to him “as recently as yesterday” that they’re willing to join the Abraham Accords, which he expects will be expanded “soon.”
Trump reiterated his belief that Arab and Muslim countries will be able to normalize relations with Israel now that a ceasefire has been reached in Gaza and the Iranian nuclear threat has been neutered.
“I hope to see Saudi Arabia go in, and I hope to see others go in. I think when Saudi Arabia goes in, everybody goes in,” Trump told Fox News.
Asked if Saudi officials have indicated to him a willingness to do so, Trump responded, “They have. Even as recently as, like, yesterday. I had some very good conversations.”
It’s unclear whether Trump actually spoke directly with Saudi officials. Earlier this week, Trump told reporters, “I spoke to Hamas, and I said, ‘You’re going to disarm, right?’ ‘Yes, sir. We’re going to disarm.’”
Surprised that he was holding direct conversations with Hamas, a reporter pressed him on the matter and Trump acknowledged that the message was passed along by his “people.”
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stated that it will not normalize relations with Israel unless Jerusalem agrees to establish a credible, time-bound, irreversible path to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did verbally agree to Trump’s 20-point peace plan that states, “While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”
The plan’s final point states that the “US will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.”
But in the speech unveiling the plan, Trump recognized Netanyahu’s “understandable” opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state and has later said that he hasn’t made a decision on whether he backs a two-state solution — without which Saudi Arabia will not join the Abraham Accords.
Moreover, the deal actually signed by Israel and Hamas in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, last week did not include the second half of Trump’s plan that focused on a potential two-state solution.
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