The White House stated that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met yesterday, Wednesday, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the kingdom to discuss efforts aimed at achieving sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The White House added in a statement that they also discussed humanitarian response efforts in Gaza, including ways to increase the flow of essential aid to the sector, in addition to a range of bilateral issues. Sullivan will travel to Israel today, Thursday, to hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of the Israeli war cabinet today and tomorrow.
U.S. negotiations aimed at reaching a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia have stalled following an attack by the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement (Hamas) on southern Israel, which it claims resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people. However, all parties have expressed their desire to continue reviving efforts when the time is right. U.S. officials indicated that Sullivan will also discuss Saudi efforts to counter Houthi attacks on international commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House, told reporters that Sullivan would address the necessity for Israelis to be more precise and specific in their attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza. Estimates from the Palestinian Ministry of Health indicate that over 18,000 people have been killed in Gaza.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden stated that Israel is losing support due to its "indiscriminate" bombing of Gaza, and that Netanyahu should change his government, revealing a new rift in relations with the Israeli Prime Minister. The White House noted that Sullivan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also discussed enhancing bilateral cooperation in security, trade, space exploration, and advanced technologies, including open wireless access networks.
