Electricity flows between Riyadh and Tel Aviv: normalization in tact

In his recent statements, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister opined that the authorization granted to the Israeli Air Force to fly in the airspace was not normalized. “We allow all states to fly in our airspace and we have allowed this. Don’t call it normalization.” On July 16, Faisal Ben Farhan said in his press conference at the end of the Jeddah Summit attended by US President Joe Biden and the leaders of 9 Arab countries. “This is not a precursor to establishing relations with Israel.” He answers a question about the end of the kingdom announced the day before “To open its airspace to all air carriers”.

The same rhetoric used by Israel to green-light the withdrawal of multinational forces stationed on the island of Tiran since the 1979 Camp David Accords was an essential step in transferring its sovereignty and Sanafir authority to Saudi Arabia. 62 and 33 km² are two confetti at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba. In exchange for what Riyadh has to protect “Freedom of navigation in this strategic strait of the Red Sea, including for Israeli ships bound for the port of Eilat”, This is one of the words of the President of the United States who sponsored the transfer A historical conclusion. “.
“This is not normalization”, F. Ben Farhane responded during a press conference in Jeddah.

Other steps have already been taken that illustrate the Saudi journey toward normalization. The most recent, and most important, took place during the pilgrimage season: Saudi officials appointed Sheikh Mohammed Isa, a cleric who supports normalization with Israel, to lead prayers and deliver a sermon on the day of Arafat.

In recent years, dozens of Israeli officials have visited Saudi Arabia Israel Hayom. The same goes for dozens of businessmen and tech pioneers who have signed deals for Saudi investments in Israeli companies and investment funds, according to an Israeli business daily. globes, They surrendered with their Israeli passports. The Wall Street Journal The Saudi government’s first multimillion-dollar investment in Israeli tech companies was revealed last May

Not to mention that in 2020, Saudi Arabia sponsored the normalization process of four of its closest allies, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. He paid $335 million that the United States said was in reparations to victims of attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which were attributed to jihadists carried out by Sudan during the regime of Omar al-Bashir.

Former Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu did not fail to express his opinion “Thanks to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his contribution to the conclusion of four historic peace agreements known as the Abraham Accords”.

In fact, without signing an agreement, the standardization process is going well step by step. Its formalization can wait.

And the Saudi leadership seems to think that the time for that has not yet come. There are no considerations prompting this postponement, with statements by its leaders stressing the need to restore the rights of the Palestinian people and advance a two-state solution.

No pressure was applied on the Saudi side in this direction. If not for the reports, the Israelis are not affected. Colonization continues in the 1967 Palestinian Territories, considered the geographic structure of the State of Palestine. And there is no question of the Israelis sharing al-Quds with the Palestinians. Palestinian neighborhoods to the east of the Holy City are being gradually destroyed by Jewish settlement organizations that are expanding their hold there.

Saudi policy is strongly hostile to both the anti-Palestinian movements and the anti-Lebanese movement. The Saudi press is full of disparaging positions claiming that Iran is in the pay of the Islamic Republic.

On several occasions, Saudi officials have said “Arabia will be the last to normalize relations with Israel.” These comments reflect a rejection of normalcy by any means, but the need for other Arab countries and Muslims to advance it. Otherwise, it would risk its leadership in the Arab-Islamic world.

Israelis understand this well. They want to formalize the normalization of the Islamic world with a state whose light is not damaged. Meanwhile, those who publish normalization activities, through their announcements and their media. The revelations seem to embarrass Saudi officials a bit, who don’t even bother to deny them. One thing “trivialization”, According to some analysts.

During the Arab Summit, a reporter for an Israeli television channel Channel 13 It was in Jeddah. “Be aware that we are broadcasting live. You talk to me and I answer you. This is all done live. We are in Jeddah. If you want another hint of normalization, this broadcast has been destroyed. He boasted during his live television broadcast in occupied Palestine. “Despite F. Ben Farhan’s denials, what is happening is a step towards normalcy”, The Israeli correspondent added.