Senior US and Palestinian officials have travelled to Riyadh for talks on a complex deal to establish diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel in return for Israeli concessions to the Palestinians and American security guarantees for the kingdom.
The talks have gained momentum since June but remain fraught with difficulties. These include doubt over whether Israel’s far-right government would make significant concessions to the Palestinians, and Saudi demands from the US to secure a defence alliance and for it to be allowed to enrich uranium for a nuclear power plant.
Saudi Arabia refused to join several other Arab states, including neighbouring United Arab Emirates, when they normalised relations with Israel in 2020. Saudi officials had said they would demand bigger concessions, both from the US and Israel, in return for a deal that could reshape Israeli relations with Arab and Muslim countries, given the kingdom’s status among Muslims.