Why are Saudi Arabia and Israel unwilling to give face to the United States? , this time

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on May 29, local time, condemning in the strongest possible terms "the Israeli occupying forces continue to recklessly carry out genocidal massacres against the Palestinian people and continue to target the tents of defenseless Palestinian refugees in Rafah."

Screenshot of the social media of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia holds that the Israeli government bears full responsibility for everything that happens in Rafah and the entire occupied Palestinian territory. The international community should stop the massacre of the Palestinian people and hold the perpetrators accountable.

The Times of Israel stated that this may be the "strongest statement" Saudi Arabia has issued against Israel since the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Although the Biden administration tried its best to downplay or even belittle the Trump administration's Middle East policy after taking office, it has essentially followed the rules on issues such as Palestinian-Israeli peace and Arab-Israeli reconciliation.

Prominent evidence is that until now, the US embassy in Israel is still in Jerusalem, and the Biden administration is still pushing for Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia, to normalize relations with Israel.

Before the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, Saudi Arabia and Israel had been engaged in normalization negotiations.

However, as the conflict continued, negotiations reached an impasse. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also rejected demands to provide a path to Palestinian statehood during the negotiations.

After the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, the United States pressured Arab countries to jointly condemn Hamas, but Saudi Arabia and other countries took the lead in boycotting it. Moreover, the U.S.’s painstaking efforts to normalize Saudi-Israeli relations is about to go blind.

The Financial Times quoted multiple U.S. government officials as saying that the United States may lift its ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks, which is seen as the latest signal that the Biden administration is seeking to improve relations with Saudi Arabia.

After taking office in 2021, the Biden administration has been at odds with Saudi Arabia on so-called "human rights" and other issues, including suspending the supply of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United States' largest arms customer, causing relations between the two countries to plummet.

However, the comprehensive escalation of the Ukraine crisis triggered sanctions on Russia and the need to stabilize oil prices and contain Iran reminded the Biden administration once again of Saudi Arabia as an "important ally"; after a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, the Biden administration was further convinced that Saudi Arabia was needed as a its key regional partners.

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken recently said that the United States and Saudi Arabia are "very close" to reaching a series of agreements on nuclear energy, security and defense cooperation.

However, whether the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel promoted by the United States can be realized depends on Israel's willingness to take concrete measures to promote the establishment of a Palestinian state.

In essence, the United States wants to use dividends such as bilateral defense cooperation with Saudi Arabia to promote the establishment of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. However, Saudi Arabia's attitude is clear: the United States' "New Middle East Strategy" aimed at achieving Arab-Israeli reconciliation cannot bypass the Palestinian issue.

What’s even more embarrassing is that Israel has not given the United States any face at all.

In recent testimony before Congress, Blinken confirmed that Israel is unlikely to agree to Saudi Arabia's demand to accept Palestinian statehood.

Screenshot of a report by the U.S. "Middle East Monitor" news network

The Washington Post commented that the Biden administration is stepping up efforts to advance a series of agreements with Saudi Arabia, but the United States is doomed to miscalculate because Israel is unlikely to agree to the conditions set by Saudi Arabia for the normalization of relations between the two countries.

The article stated that the reason why the Trump administration was able to promote the normalization of relations between Israel and certain Arab countries was because the issue of Palestinian statehood was not as urgent as it is now. However, since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7 last year, the conditions for further normalization of Saudi-Israeli relations no longer exist.

"The conditions for the normalization of Saudi-Israeli relations no longer exist." Who is to blame?

This round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been protracted, and the United States, the biggest "protagonist on the sidelines", cannot absolve itself of the blame.

The Israeli military recently launched a series of deadly air strikes on the Rafah refugee camp, causing hundreds of casualties and triggering strong condemnation from the international community.

However, despite the constant bombardment of Rafah, the White House still does not believe that Israel has launched a "large-scale ground operation" against Rafah.

Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the White House National Security Council, said recently: "We have not seen the Israeli army storm into Rafah - we have not seen them form a column with large forces and attack multiple targets on the ground in some coordinated and maneuverable way. ”

Kirby also said that the U.S. policy of supporting Israel will not change.

In the words of Colin Clark, an analyst at the Soufan Group, a New York research organization: "In an election year, the red lines are becoming increasingly blurred."

Reuters mocked that the White House on May 28 provided the most complete definition to date of Israel’s “major ground operations” in Rafah.

British Sky News reported that by most measures, Israel's actions have crossed the "red line"; but according to Biden's own standards, Israel has not.

The article pointed out that if Biden admits that Israel's behavior has crossed the "red line", it means that he will fulfill his promise to stop sending weapons to Israel, which will face strong opposition from politicians and major donors on Capitol Hill.

What's more, at the press conference of the US State Department on May 28, local time, spokesman Miller attributed the incident to a "fire" rather than Israeli bombing based on the Israeli statement.

Several heads of organizations sympathetic to the Palestinians in the United States pointed out that citing the Israeli investigation is a tactic for the United States to shirk responsibility, which allows it to postpone the assessment indefinitely and wait for news reports about the tragedy to slowly die out.

Qatar's Al Jazeera quoted experts as saying that Biden's attitude on Rafah is "just a continuation of his ruthless and untenable Gaza policy."

Tayeb, the head of a Palestinian rights advocacy group, asked: “After the massacre in Rafah, where is Biden’s red line?”

According to Khalid Elkindi, a senior fellow at the American Middle East Institute, the Biden administration’s definition of the “red line” for Israel’s military operations in Rafah is vague and deliberately designed. "They don't want to be tied down because Israel will absolutely cross that line, and we've seen that many times."