Diplomats and lawyers from the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are working on a complex choreography of agreements, negotiations and letters that will allow the signing of an agreement around two strategic Red Sea islands ahead of President Bain’s visit to the Middle East. next month. , I was told by three Israeli officials. Why it matters: The agreement would be a major foreign policy achievement for the Biden government in the Middle East and could pave the way for a gradual warming of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
But because Saudi Arabia and Israel have no diplomatic relations and cannot directly sign formal bilateral agreements, the countries involved are trying to use creative legal and diplomatic solutions to indirectly conclude an agreement.
Get ready fast: Under the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty, the islands of Tiran and Sanafir in the Red Sea must be demilitarized and have the presence of a multinational observer force led by the United States.
Despite public protests in Egypt, the Egyptian parliament in June 2017 and the country’s supreme court in March 2018 approved an agreement to restore sovereignty in Saudi Arabia. But the deal needed to be bought out by Israel over the 1979 peace treaty. Israel first agreed to move the islands back to Saudi Arabia pending an agreement between Cairo and Riyadh to continue the work of the multinational observer force in charge of patrolling the islands and ensuring that freedom of navigation in the straits remains unimpeded.
Where it stands: The Biden government has been quietly mediating between Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt for months in a deal that would finalize the transfer of the islands from Egypt to Saudi control.
At the heart of the mediation effort is how to meet the Saudi demand for the US multinational force to leave the islands while maintaining the same security arrangements and political commitments that the Israelis need, Axios said earlier. Israeli officials want to make sure that any commitment made by the Egyptians to their peace deal with Israel remains binding on the Saudis, especially the agreement to allow Israeli ships to cross the Straits of Tirana. Two senior Israeli officials said the Saudis had agreed to abide by Egypt’s commitments, including freedom of navigation.
Behind the Scenes: Israeli officials say outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, incoming Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz have been briefed in recent days on the proposed approach.
According to the approach, Saudi Arabia would sign an agreement with Egypt and send a letter to the US as a guarantor stating its commitments, two senior Israeli officials told me. The United States would then give Israel a letter of assurance, mainly on the issue of freedom of navigation.
An Israeli official stressed that the approach has not been finalized, but the parties are close to an agreement. A spokesman for the White House National Security Council said the United States “has long played an important role in promoting security and stability in the Red Sea. We have no comment on these specific reports.” The embassies of Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the United States did not respond to requests for comment.
Game situation: Gantz and the Israeli defense establishment feel comfortable with the proposed approach and believe that Israel’s security interests will be guaranteed, a senior Israeli official told me.
“The trick here was how Saudi Arabia can sign an agreement with Israel without signing an agreement with Israel. There is no disagreement on the substance,” a senior Israeli official told me. “The key issue is how to do it in a way that makes everyone feel politically comfortable,” he added.
The big picture: Regardless of the agreement on the island, Saudi Arabia is expected to allow Israeli airlines to use Saudi airspace for flights east to India and China, Axios reported last week.
Another issue still under discussion ahead of Biden’s visit is the possibility of direct charter flights to Saudi Arabia for Muslim Israeli pilgrims, officials added.
