Netanyahu and Biden concluded: the condition for the agreement with Saudi Arabia – preserving the possibility of a two-state solution

United States President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed at their meeting in New York last week that the Palestinian component in an agreement with Saudi Arabia would be based on the principle of maintaining the ability to reach a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians in the future, according to an Israeli senior official and a source privy to the details.

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why is it important:

• The White House is putting great effort into trying to reach a package deal with Saudi Arabia in the coming months before the presidential election takes over President Biden's agenda.
• The White House made it clear to the Israeli government that it would have to agree to significant concessions for the Palestinians as part of the package deal that would also include normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
• The foreign minister in Lincoln claimed that the Saudi leadership made it clear to him that the Palestinian issue would play a central role in any future deal with Israel.

Behind the Scenes:

• On the evening before the meeting between Netanyahu and Biden in New York, a preparatory meeting was held between the advisors of the American president, Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, and Netanyahu's advisors, according to senior American and Israeli officials.
• McGarrack and Hochstein asked Netanyahu's advisers what the Prime Minister intends to say to President Biden in their meeting regarding the concessions he is willing to make to the Palestinians as part of the deal with Saudi Arabia.
• A source with knowledge of the details of the meeting said that Netanyahu's advisers did not provide details and told Biden's advisers that Prime Minister Netanyahu would say the things in a private conversation with the American president.
• In the meeting between Biden and Netanyahu that took place the next day, much of the hour-long conversation focused on the Palestinian component of the deal with Saudi Arabia, senior Israeli and American officials said.
• President Biden did not give Netanyahu a list of American demands for specific concessions for the Palestinians, but emphasized to the prime minister that he wants Israel to take steps within the framework of an agreement with Saudi Arabia to preserve the possibility of implementing the two-state solution in the future, according to an Israeli senior official and a source familiar with the contents of the meeting.
• An Israeli senior official and a source privy to the contents of the meeting said that Netanyahu generally agreed to the principle of taking steps that would leave the door open to a future peace agreement with the Palestinians.
• The White House declined to comment.

Yes but:

• An Israeli senior official said that the talks on the Palestinian component of the Saudi deal are only at the beginning and pointed out that the main question is how to translate the general principle discussed by Biden and Netanyahu into practical steps on the ground.
• The main challenge is that each of the parties may give a different interpretation to the principle of keeping the two-state solution alive. In such a situation, significant differences may arise between Israel and the United States as soon as they start discussing the details.

The big picture:

• The Palestinian component of the package deal with Saudi Arabia is a political hot potato in Washington, Jerusalem and Riyadh.
• The White House wants Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians in order to gain support from Democratic senators for an agreement that may also include a defense alliance between the US and Saudi Arabia.
• The Saudi Crown Prince demanded that Israel agree to take steps for the Palestinians so that he could gather support for normalization with Israel in Saudi public opinion and in the Arab and Muslim world.
• Netanyahu really wants a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia. But significant concessions to the Palestinians will arouse strong opposition from the far-right parties in the government and from within the Likud and threaten the integrity of the coalition.