US presidential advisors briefed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday’s meeting between Washington’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MbS), US and Israeli officials told Axios on 8 May.
“Brett McGurk, White House Middle East coordinator, and Amos Hochstein, President Biden’s senior adviser for energy and infrastructure, who joined Sullivan for his talks in Saudi Arabia, traveled on Monday from Jeddah to Jerusalem,” Axios cited the officials as saying.
“McGurk and Hochstein briefed Netanyahu, as well as Ron Dermer, Israeli minister for strategic affairs, and Tzachi Hanegbim, Israel’s national security adviser, on the talks Sullivan held with MBS,” the report adds.
The White House has not responded to a request for comment on the matter.
The meeting between MbS and Sullivan focused on reviewing the progress made in recent negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire and ending the war in Yemen.
However, it was also meant to boost the deteriorating relationship between Washington and Riyadh, Reuters reported.
During his trip, Sullivan also held a meeting with MbS, UAE official Tahnoon bin Zayed, and Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval on the possibility of a joint infrastructure project.
However, US officials confirmed to Axios: “Normalization [with Israel] was one of the issues Sullivan had planned to discuss with MBS while in Saudi Arabia.”
The Axios report coincided with a report released by Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, which said: “The conventional wisdom among Israeli policymakers is that the thaw in relations is only in its initial state and that a full-fledged agreement on having the two sides normalize their relations will take at least several months and perhaps even a year if it culminates in a successful outcome.”
The Arab policy shift taking place across West Asia recently has resulted in a significant blow to Israeli aspirations for normalization with Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom – which is rapidly positioning itself away from the US orbit – has recently reconciled with Iran and the Syrian government, and is working to rekindle long-strained relations with the Hamas resistance movement.
While Saudi Arabia was involved last year in a US-sponsored push for normalization with Israel, the kingdom has recently doubled down on its position not to move forward with any such plans until a two-state solution in line with the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative is achieved.