One of the goals of the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel was to disrupt efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and the Jewish state, President Biden said on Friday.
“One of the reasons they acted the way they did, why Hamas attacked Israel, is because they knew I was about to sit down with the Saudis,” Biden, 80, said at a fundraising event. campaign in Washington.
“Because the Saudis wanted to recognize Israel and that would, in fact, unite the Middle East,” he added.
Since 2020, Israel has made diplomatic progress with several Muslim-majority nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, but Saudi Arabia has yet to recognize Israeli sovereignty.
The unprecedented Hamas raid on October 7, which killed more than 1,000 people in southern Israel, came amid recent talks aimed at thawing relations between Jerusalem and Riyadh as part of a trilateral agreement with the United States.
A Hamas terrorist uses a paraglider during the unprecedented October 7 attack, which killed more than 1,000 people in southern Israel. Hamas
The deal that had been taking shape was aimed at increasing stability in the Middle East, addressing the Iranian nuclear threat (Iran is a fierce rival of Saudi Arabia) and increasing economic cooperation.
Amid the talks, Iran’s highest authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that any country that tries to normalize relations with Israel “will suffer losses.”
According to Bloomberg, diplomatic negotiations regarding a possible deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel have been halted since the October 7 attack.
Israel has reached several diplomatic agreements with Muslim-majority nations since 2020, including recent talks aimed at thawing relations between Jerusalem and Riyadh as part of a trilateral agreement with the United States. AP
Biden’s comment comes on the same day the White House asked Congress to authorize approximately $14 billion to support Israel’s air and missile defense systems and for other weapons purchases in its war against Hamas.
The money is part of a broader $106 billion funding request for Ukraine, humanitarian aid in Gaza and Israel, U.S. border security and measures to counter China.
Also on Friday, Biden appeared to answer “yes” when a reporter asked him whether Israel should delay a possible ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in an effort to free more hostages held by Hamas terrorists.
Israeli artillery fires from the border as Israel appears to be preparing for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.Getty Images
However, a White House spokesman said the president “did not hear the full question.”
“The question sounded like ‘Would you like to see more hostages released?’ He didn’t comment on anything else,” White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said, according to Reuters.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn