Friday, December 14, 2018

‘Game Changing’ Arab Israeli Reconciliation?

Report claims Saudi Crown Prince planning ‘game-changing’ meeting with Israeli Prime Minister
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and President Donald Trump
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, is planning a “game-changing” meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the Middle East Eye reported Thursday.

According to the London-based, Qatari-funded outlet, the sources in the Saudi kingdom claimed that the Crown Prince is “seriously considering” a “game-changing” meeting with Netanyahu, which would be hosted by President Donald Trump.

The plan for a meeting with the Israeli leader, including a public handshake modeled on the Begin-Sadat handshake at Camp David in 1978, is reportedly being developed by a special team put together by the Crown Prince to deflect criticism following the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey in October.

The move is reportedly being promoted in part in the hopes of curbing plans by Western powers, including a pending motion in the US Senate, against the Saudi leadership over Khashoggi’s murder.

“MBS asked his task force to study this proposal and he hinted that he liked the idea,” a Saudi official told the Middle East Eye.

“The task force agreed that without a major stunt, there is a real danger of a series of decisions from Congress that would fundamentally set back the Saudi-US relationship, which is key for the crown prince.”

Bruce's notes
Pinch me.  While most likely a Saudi 'trial balloon' or a nefarious leak, if this report turns out to be accurate, we could be looking at a major development that would change the course of MidEast politics.  It could eclipse the failed Oslo agreement and be the most significant handshake in ages.  Could the [murderous, and now vulnerable/more flexible] Saudis provide the juice needed to move the Arab-Israeli conflict toward resolution? Will the exchange include a plan to hit Iran's underground nuclear facilities with bunker bombs?  

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