Meant to Reshape Middle East. Plan would offer incentives for Israel to end war with Hamas. Accord would pave the way for Saudis to get advanced weapons.

By Alberto Nardelli, Jennifer Jacobs, and Peter Martin May 1, 2024 at 12:42 PM EDT Updated on  May 1, 2024 at 5:29 PM EDT BLOOMBERG

The US and Saudi Arabia are nearing a historic pact that would offer the kingdom security guarantees and lay out a possible pathway to diplomatic ties with Israel if its government brings the war in the Gaza Strip to an end, people familiar with the matter said. The agreement faces plenty of obstacles but would amount to a new version of a framework that was scuttled when Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel triggered the conflict in Gaza. Negotiations between Washington and Riyadh have sped up in recent weeks, and many officials are optimistic that they could reach a deal within weeks, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Such an agreement would potentially reshape the Middle East. Beyond bolstering Israel and Saudi Arabia’s security, it would strengthen the US’s position in the region at the expense of Iran and even China.

The pact may offer Saudi Arabia an arrangement strong enough to need the US Senate’s approval and even give the world’s biggest oil exporter access to advanced US weapons that were previously off-limits. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would agree to limit Chinese technology from his nation’s most sensitive networks in exchange for major US investments in artificial intelligence and quantum-computing, and get American help to build out its civilian nuclear program.

Once the US and Saudi Arabia settle their agreement, they would present Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a choice: either join the deal, which would entail formal diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia for the first time, more investment and regional integration, or be left behind. The key conditions for Netanyahu would be no small feat — ending the Gaza war and agreeing to a pathway for Palestinian statehood. The proposal is fraught with doubt and may not come to fruition, which people familiar with the planning readily acknowledge.

Getting American lawmakers to approve a deal that commits the US to protecting Saudi Arabia militarily would be a daunting prospect for the White House, especially if Israel opts not to join it. Many lawmakers remain wary of Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s 38-year-old de facto ruler, after the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in 2018. They’re also uneasy about the Saudi strategy of lowering oil production, along with other members of the OPEC+ cartel, to prop up prices.

From the Israeli side, Netanyahu leads the most right-wing government in the country’s history and has all but ruled out a two-state solution. His coalition says it still plans to attack the Gazan city of Rafah, which the US and Arab states fear would lead to thousands more deaths among Palestinian civilians. Such an attack would also jeopardize prospects for a short-term cease-fire that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken — who met Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday — says is a priority for President Joe Biden.

Policy Victory

Still, the leaders of the three countries have plenty of incentives to reach an agreement soon. For Biden, it’s a chance for a foreign policy victory before the US presidential election in November. The crown prince would avoid the uncertainty about whether former President Donald Trump would accept a deal if he wins that race, even though Trump’s administration initiated the Abraham Accords that envisioned such alliances between Israel and its neighbors. Netanyahu, the biggest wild card, could take credit for normalizing relations with the biggest economy in the Middle East and guardian of Islam’s holiest sites — a goal he’s long coveted. US officials said talks are underway but declined to comment on specifics. Saudi Arabia’s government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Netanyahu’s office declined to comment. Earlier Wednesday, the Guardian reported the US and Saudi Arabia had drafted a set of agreements linked to a broader Palestinian peace deal. “We have done intense work together over the last months,” Blinken said on Monday while in Saudi Arabia. “The work that Saudi Arabia and the United States have been doing together in terms of our own agreements, I think, is potentially very close to completion.” At the same event, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said an agreement was “very, very close.”

Aspects of the deal would mirror agreements the US has made in recent months with other regional partners, including the United Arab Emirates. In that case, Abu Dhabi’s top artificial intelligence firm, G42, agreed to end cooperation with China in exchange for an investment from Microsoft Corp. In the case of Saudi Arabia, which is also eager to develop artificial intelligence and semiconductors locally, the US has said it can’t do so with American help if it keeps Chinese technology. Saudi Arabia would need to agree not to pursue cooperation on advanced technology with US adversaries, a person familiar with the matter said. And Saudi Arabia would get to fulfill its long-sought wish for a civilian nuclear program. In exchange, the US would gain access to the kingdom’s uranium, the person said.

MbS, Armageddon and The Nuclear Threat with ‘Kings from the East.’

Shift in Approach

The latest conversations amount to a shift in approach for Biden and Prince Mohammed. As originally conceived, the agreement would have been a three-way deal that forged Saudi-Israeli diplomatic relations along with greater investment and integration in the region. Now, the US and Saudi Arabia see a deal with each other as central to ending the war between Israel and Hamas, which has roiled the wider Middle East and led to huge protests in the West. The two countries would offer Israel a series of economic, security and diplomatic incentives if it scales back plans for an invasion of Rafah and quickly concludes its war with Hamas. For Netanyahu, another advantage is that a pact would help counter Iran’s aggression. Since the war in Gaza erupted, Israel and Iran have exchanged their first-ever direct fire against one another and Tehran’s proxy militias such as Hezbollah have regularly attacked the Jewish state.

GOG MAGOG INVASION OF ISRAEL

Time Running Out

Israel may be running out of time for a deal. International support for Netanyahu’s position is waning the longer the war continues. US polling backs that up. Roughly a third of Republicans in seven swing states oppose continued aid to Israel, as do four in 10 Democrats and independent voters, according to a recent survey. “This is a strategic act between Saudi Arabia and the United States that’s meant to secure and cement America’s position in the Middle East at a time when the kingdom, but also others, have been diversifying their foreign policy options away from Washington,” said Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

— With assistance from Courtney McBride, Donato Paolo Mancini, Henry Meyer, Mackenzie Hawkins, and Iain Marlow

(Updates with additional details of potential pact in 1st, 14th paragraphs.)

He Shall ‘Confirm’ the ‘Covenant of Normalization’ for Seven Years:

APRIL 29, 2024 SAUDI ARABIA HAS DECIDED TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL, but is debating whether to implement the move in the coming weeks or after the presidential election in the United States in November. Saudi Arabia is expected to demand guarantees that will ensure clear progress on the issue of a Palestinian state in return. “Mohammed bin Salman has decided to go for an agreement with Israel. It’s a principled strategic move, as part of the rapprochement with the U.S., and [Saudi Arabia] is interested in realizing it.

“The question is when, and the decision on the timing should be made within days. The debate in the Saudi government is whether to hand this ‘candy’ to President [Joe] Biden, who may not be reelected, or wait for the next president, assuming Biden will lose.” “Mohammed bin Salman is considering whether an agreement with Israel, assuming his demands are met, will not be seen as aiding Biden’s political campaign, which could damage relations with the next president.”

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have carried out intensive work together over the past month on Israel-Saudi normalization, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday at a World Economic Forum special meeting held in Riyadh, adding that bilateral Saudi-U.S. work linked to normalization is very close to completion. “When it comes to normalization, I’m not going to speak for our hosts here, except to say that we have done intense work together over the last months,” he said during a conversation with World Economic Forum President Borge Brende. “In order to move forward with normalization, two things will be required: calm in Gaza and a credible pathway to a Palestinian state

A security agreement between Mohammed bin Salman and the U.S. is very close. “Most of the work has already been done.” “We have the outlines of what we think should happen on the Palestinian issue.”  Attempts for normalization with Israel were a key step for the kingdom to secure what Riyadh considers the real prize of a U.S. defense pact in exchange. Securing a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia would be the grand prize for Israel after it established diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, and could transform the geopolitics of the Middle East.

THE COVENANT OF FALSE PEACE CONFIRMED FOR SEVEN YEARS BY THE PRINCE, BEAST, ANTICHRIST, MAN BY SATAN

The international community is in favor of the two-state solution.  “The Security Council must recognize the Palestinian state in order to stop Israel from depriving the Palestinian people of their right to freedom and their own state.” “Recognizing the Palestinian state and its full membership is a necessary step to impose a just peace that ends the occupation, ends the conflict, and fulfills the right of all the peoples of the region to ‘live in SECURITY AND STABILITY’.” All nations acknowledge the State of Palestine on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, as a ‘prerequisite to achieving regional PEACE AND SECURITY’.”

1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they say, (7) “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes (7) upon them, as labor pains upon a (7) pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. (777)

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In His Service,

Night Watchman

Paul Rolland

Night Watchman Ministries

www.nightwatchman.blog

Make Your (7) Decision for Christ NOW!!!!!!! Time is Up!!!!!!!

Jesus Christ’s Offer of Salvation:

The ABCs (7) of Salvation through Jesus Christ (the Lamb)

1. (7) Admit/Acknowledge/Accept that you are sinner. Ask (7) God’s forgiveness and repent of your sins.

. . . “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).

. . . “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8).

B. Believe Jesus is Lord. Believe that (7) Jesus Christ is who He claimed to (7) be; that He was both fully God (7) and fully man and that we are (7) saved through His death, burial, and resurrection. (7) Put your trust in Him as your (7) only hope of salvation. Become a son (7) or daughter of God by receiving Christ. (7777777) 7×7

. . . “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:15-17). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

C. Call upon His name, Confess (7) with your heart and with your lips (7) that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

. . . “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (John 1:8-10).

. . . “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (John 2:2).