The Trump administration’s primary focus was to expedite normalisation with Saudi Arabia, which the US considers a key player in regional transformation [Getty]
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to announce progress in talks aimed at normalising relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel during their meeting in Washington on Tuesday, according to a report by the Israeli daily Haaretz on Sunday.
The report came after US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, was reportedly working to finalise the exact wording of the agreement between the two countries.
Last week, Witkoff visited Riyadh on a trip that was followed by a stop Tel Aviv to reportedly finalise the details.
The US envoy also report Palestinian Authority Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Al-Sheikh, as well as another Palestinian figure described by the newspaper as “acceptable to the West”.
According to the report, the Trump administration’s primary focus was to expedite normalisation with Saudi Arabia, which the US considers a key player in regional transformation.
The normalisation deal has been tied to multiple strategic objectives, including isolating Hamas, halting Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and securing financial investments into the US economy.
The Haaretz report also suggested that Trump’s repeated statements about a controversial plan to expel the population of Gaza to Egypt and Jordan may be a “negotiation tactic”, allowing Saudi Arabia to claim credit for blocking the plan as part of its broader agreement with Washington.
Haaretz further indicated that most of the terms of a future deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel were already agreed upon during negotiations under the previous Biden administration.
Under the proposed deal, Israel and Saudi Arabia would sign a normalisation agreement which would include economic cooperation and partnerships.
In return, the US is expected to commit to supplying Saudi Arabia with nuclear reactors for civilian purposes under strict regulatory oversight.
Washington would also offer a joint defence agreement and pledge to support a “pathway towards a Palestinian state”.
However, the report stated that while an understanding would be reached with Israel on the issue of Palestinian statehood, it would be framed as a US declaration rather than a direct condition within the Saudi-Israeli agreement.
The biggest obstacle to advancing the deal, according to the report, was Israel’s war on Gaza. Saudi Arabia has reportedly made it clear that military operations must cease before it proceeds with normalisation.
Trump is expected to emphasise the Gaza ceasefire condition in his meeting with Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday.
The US president would apparently give guarantees to Israel that Hamas would not be part of any future administration in Gaza, according to the daily.
