The Biden administration has been actively pursuing the goal of normalizing ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserting that both countries are “interested” in the prospect. Blinken visited the region in June with the explicit objective of promoting normalization, and his remarks on Wednesday showed that the administration is pushing on with that campaign. The normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel has, however, been a difficult and challenging prospect. Few Arab states have recognized Israel since its establishment in 1948, and Saudi Arabia has been a notable exception. The country has stuck by the Arab Peace Initiative – which conditions normalization with Israel on its withdrawal from Arab territories and the establishment of a Palestinian state, as well as finding a “fair solution” to the plight of Palestinian refugees.

In addition, the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict has further complicated efforts to bring the two countries together. The US has played a key role in the Abraham Accords, helping to broker agreements to forge formal relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco in 2020, and Sudan in 2021. Despite this, the Biden administration has received criticism from some corners for its approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – with the US providing at least $3.4bn in aid to Israel annually and voicing opposition to settlement-building while also stressing “ironclad” support for Israel. The regional realignment, with Iran and Saudi Arabia re-establishing their own diplomatic ties after years of animosity, also presents both a challenge and an opportunity.

Iran and the US have recently reached an informal understanding to ease tensions and partly curb Tehran’s nuclear programme, but Blinken has said there is “no agreement in the offing” between the two countries. In his remarks on Wednesday, Blinken warned that unrest between Israelis and Palestinians makes it more difficult for Washington’s normalisation drive. He went on to suggest that settlement expansion is not in Israel’s interest, asking what it would mean in terms of the allocation of resources. Leading rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have accused Israel of imposing a system of apartheid on Palestinians, while Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab Center Washington DC, has argued that prioritizing Saudi Arabia-Israel normalization was a “distorted interpretation” of US national interest. Despite the challenges, Washington’s campaign for normalization appears to be continuing. With the Biden administration stressing the importance of the initiative, the region may be on the brink of a historic shift in diplomatic relations.