US President Joe Biden said at a campaign event on Thursday that Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are ready for a full normalisation of ties with Israel. During the event, which was meant to show unity in the Democratic Party ahead of the US elections in November this year, Biden was joined on stage by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
“I’ve been working with the Saudis and with all the other Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Qatar. They’re prepared to fully recognise Israel. There has to be a post-Gaza plan, and there has to be a trade to a two-state solution. It doesn’t have to occur today. It has to be a progression and I think we can do that,” Biden said.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, which has resulted in a reported over 32,000 mostly civilian deaths, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stated that normalisation with Tel Aviv is still on the table.
However, Riyadh has doubled down on its demands for concessions to the Palestinians, including, most prominently, the demand for the eventual realisation of statehood.