Saudi Prince MBS: Bilateral Talks with Israel To Resume Post-War

(LibertySociety.com) – President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke on October 24 about the ongoing war in Israel following the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7. The two “affirmed the importance of working toward a sustainable peace,” but agreed that the current situation demands both countries’ full attention for the time being. Since the Abraham Accords, made possible by former President Trump’s diplomacy efforts with Israel and other Middle Eastern nations, continuous progress has been made toward normalization. The White House recently said that disrupting those peace efforts could have been the reason Hamas chose to attack Israel.

Biden and bin Salman jointly called for the release of hostages and thanked one another for providing aid to Gaza. President Biden announced $100 million in aid during his visit to Israel. He praised the Gulf Cooperation Council for also contributing $100 million. Both agreed that increased humanitarian efforts are needed. Preventing the conflict from spreading to other regions was also discussed, with Biden and bin Salman committing to increased diplomacy for containment. A readout of the call from the Saudis also included bin Salman’s call for a cease-fire. He expressed disapproval of civilians being caught up in the war. Notably, the readout highlighted bin Salman’s commitment to resuming normalization efforts once the conflict is over.

Whether coincidental or not, just weeks before Hamas attacked Israel, Saudi Arabia had publicly praised the peace progress that had been made with Israel. Since the initial attack, over 8,000 people have been killed in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. However, the numbers that Hamas reported should be taken with a grain of salt. President Biden believes that Palestinian officials are being dishonest about the number of civilian deaths. Israel has reported killing a total of 1,500 Hamas terrorists thus far. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be preparing for a ground war to take out Hamas’s infrastructure, and both have vowed to completely dismantle Hamas.