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Saudi Royal Source Links Israel-Syria Talks to Possible Riyadh Normalization
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1 day ago
A senior member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family said Riyadh views the nascent agreement being negotiated among Israel, Syria and the United States as a potential springboard toward formal Saudi-Israeli relations, drawing parallels with the 2020 Abraham Accords that began with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The remarks coincided with a rare appearance in Jerusalem by Saudi journalist Abdulaziz Al-Khamis and Syrian activist Shadi Martini, who addressed a cross-party caucus in the Knesset on 9 July. Al-Khamis told lawmakers they now had “perhaps the last opportunity in a generation” to convert Israel’s military deterrence into a broader political settlement, while stressing that any deal must uphold Palestinian dignity and lead to a demilitarized Palestinian state. The Knesset lobby, led by opposition parliamentarians, is pushing for a regional security framework that would extend Israel’s normalization beyond the Gulf and North Africa. Its discussions follow stepped-up, U.S.-brokered contacts between Israeli and Syrian officials since President Ahmed al-Sharaa took office after Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in late 2024. Media reports say Jerusalem and Damascus are exploring the outlines of a peace accord that could be signed as early as 2026, although sovereignty over the Golan Heights remains a major sticking point. Riyadh is closely tracking those talks, the royal family source said, and believes progress on the Syrian track could unlock a trilateral arrangement involving the United States. Saudi officials have not commented publicly, but the source signaled that the kingdom’s support hinges on a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood and regional economic integration. Any breakthrough would represent the most significant expansion of Arab-Israeli normalization since the Abraham Accords.
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