“Almost all Arab countries want to normalize relations with Israel” (Blinken)

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Saturday that Israel has an “exceptional opportunity” to normalize relations with its Arab neighbors in the coming months, stressing the necessity of establishing a Palestinian state. The head of US diplomacy announced during a roundtable discussion at the Munich Security Conference that Arab countries are making “real efforts” to revitalize the Palestinian Authority so that it can better represent the Palestinians.

Anthony Blinken said: “Almost all Arab countries really want to integrate Israel into the region in order to normalize relations (…), and provide commitments and guarantees so that Israel feels more secure.” He added: “I believe that there is also an urgent need more than ever to move forward with the establishment of a Palestinian state that also guarantees Israel's security.”

The Joe Biden administration is working to secure an agreement that would normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. The Kingdom and other Arab countries want to create a Palestinian state as part of this agreement. Washington also wants to reach an agreement on the release of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.

The hostage deal and humanitarian truce are seen as key to moving forward with talks on a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which were frozen in the wake of the attack but have recently resumed.