By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
RIYADH/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Saudi Arabia has softened its position on Palestinian statehood, telling Washington that “a public commitment” from Israel to a two-state solution “could be enough” for the Gulf kingdom to normalize relations with the Jewish nation, according to Saudi and Western officials.
In remarks Friday, the officials also announced that Riyadh abandoned its pursuit of an “ambitious defense treaty” with Washington and sought “a more modest military cooperation agreement” in return for regular ties with Israel.
According to Western diplomats familiar with his thinking, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views normalization with Saudi Arabia as a historical milestone and a sign of broader acceptance in the Arab world.
But he faces opposition at home to any concessions to Palestinians in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks that killed some 1,200 people.
And with public anger in Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East mounting over Israel’s strikes against Hamas in Gaza, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has again made recognition of Israel conditional on it taking concrete steps to create a Palestinian state.
Yet, with U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump soon becoming dealmaker-in-chief, Riyadh and Washington hope a more modest defense pact could be sealed before Joe Biden leaves the White House on January 20.
A full-blown U.S.-Saudi treaty would need to pass the U.S. Senate with a two-thirds majority, and this would be a non-starter unless Riyadh recognizes Israel, several sources said.
However, Trump has made it clear that he wants to extend the Abraham Accords, which already include agreements on Arab–Israeli normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain, on September 15, 2020.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The United States unleashed a heavy wave of airstrikes against Iran early Thursday after President Donald Trump vowed severe retaliation for Tehran’s surprise ballistic missile attack on American forces stationed in Jordan.
Christians in Nigeria were mourning Wednesday after dozens of believers were killed in coordinated attacks on villages in the country’s northwestern Kaduna State, with local monitors warning the death toll may exceed 60.
Antisemitic violence worldwide reached its deadliest level in more than three decades during 2025, according to a new report documenting a sharp escalation in threats and attacks against Jewish communities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli special forces could be called upon if he were threatened with arrest while traveling abroad under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
Ukraine said Wednesday it struck two of Russia’s largest oil refineries in overnight long-range drone attacks, intensifying pressure on Moscow as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met U.S. President Donald J. Trump in Washington.
Three Christian men who were detained in Pakistan for allegedly “desecrating” the Quran, viewed by Muslims as holy, have been released after police and authorities concluded the allegation “stemmed from a personal dispute rather than an act of blasphemy,” Christian advocates told Worthy News Wednesday.
Japan’s prime minister warned Wednesday that “every second counts” after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country’s southern Kumamoto Prefecture, killing more than a dozen people.