Jake Wallis Simons Jake Wallis Simons

Could an Israeli-Saudi peace deal be imminent?

The Israeli-Saudi peace deal is, to coin a phrase, oven-ready, a source close to the negotiations told me this week. After many months of covert meetings, the detail has been agreed and the Israelis are ready to commit. All that’s needed is for the Saudis to sign on the dotted line. This means that an alliance could be sealed within six months.

Of all the Arab-Israeli peace agreements, a Saudi deal would be the most significant. The Gulf kingdom is a huge country that comes close to bordering Israel, and, as such, is of great strategic weight. It is the largest economy in the Middle East. And as the custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites – Mecca and Medina – it is a serious contender for the title of leader of the Muslim world, and the main counterweight to Iran.

According to insiders, the Saudis have been considering gift-wrapping the deal for the new US president. But it will come with strings attached. For one thing, Riyadh will want a seat at the Iranian decision-making table, demanding that its interests are respected in any future nuclear agreement. Biden’s almost religious zeal for a new Iran deal is causing sleepless nights in more places than Jerusalem.

For another, there would have to be arms sales. The Saudis will not countenance anything less than the F35 stealth jets that were offered to the Emiratis. And then there is the issue of legal immunity for Saudi figures who have not been, shall we say, whiter than white.

A peace deal with Israel would go a long way towards sanitising MBS’s image

The 35-year-old Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, or ‘MBS’ as he is known, is a case in point. Since he rose to power in 2017, he has cemented his reputation as a ruthless leader. The Ritz-Carlton purges – so called because up to 500 rivals were detained in the hotel after he came to power – made headlines around the world.

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