Saudis Abandon Defense Treaty Over Israel Stalemate

“Saudi Arabia has abandoned its pursuit of an ambitious defense treaty with Washington in return for normalising relations with Israel and is now pushing for a more modest military cooperation agreement,“ Reuters reports.

“In a drive to get a wide-ranging mutual security treaty over the line earlier this year, Riyadh softened its position on Palestinian statehood, telling Washington that a public commitment from Israel to a two-state solution could be enough for the Gulf kingdom to normalise relations.”