Netanyahu’s national security director: “Everyone knows that the Arab Peace Initiative doesn’t have any meaning”

A former security advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu says Riyadh, i.e. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, would encourage any kind of Israeli-Palestinian deal to get rid of this “PR obstacle” as soon as possible and team up with Tel Aviv against Tehran.

Nearly a decade ago Riyadh had proposed an initiative to improve the relations between Arab nations and Israel. The Arab Peace Initiative, endorsed by the Arab League, demanded that the Zionist state withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and achieve “a just solution to the Palestinian Refugee problem.”

Brig. Gen. Yaakov Nagel, who served as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security director from January 2016 until May 2017, argues that despite the reinstatement of pre-1967 borders still being the primary reference point in any discussions for a peaceful settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, the Saudi government is likely to accept any deal that would benefit its ties with the Israeli government.

“Everyone knows that the Arab Peace Initiative doesn’t have any meaning. There are things inside that don’t hold water,” Nagel said this week. “They [Saudis] just have to say there’s an agreement between Israel and Palestine. They don’t care; they don’t give a damn what will be the agreement.”

Nagel, however, noted that Saudi Arabia will face a PR issue if it seeks closer ties with Israel. That is why, the crown prince is ready to endorse any resolution as a lawful deal between Israel and Palestine, in order to claim the Palestinian issue is resolved and that it is time to focus on the Middle Eastern power, Iran.

“They don’t like the Palestinians more than us or less than us. They need to say that there is an agreement in order to take next steps toward normalization. So this is still an obstacle,” Nagel said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed this week that Tel Aviv is covertly cooperating with Arab nations. Its ties with the Arab world, in particular with Saudi Arabia, was confirmed recently by Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz. Shockingly, in November, IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot, told Saudi Arabia’s Alaf newspaper that his country was ready to share “intelligence information” with Riyadh on Tehran.

Despite all the evidence pointing to an unprecedented improvement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the Saudi government firmly rejects claims that the two states are working together.