Bottom Line
- The United States and Israel have presented different visions for post-war Gaza. However, their plans are compatible on some level and could form the basis for an initiative.
- The main contention between Washington and Jerusalem is over whether the establishment of a Palestinian state is a realistic and viable option.
- The United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia should advance a model for Palestinian autonomy in the context of a wider Arab-Israeli diplomatic détente.
The divisions between Israel and the United States over the Gaza War seem to have deepened in the aftermath of the release of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for post-war Gaza. The plan did not include reference to one of Washington’s key demands from Israel: that it accepts the idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state.
The Israeli plan was “at odds with US aims” and bound to lead to tensions between the two countries,
predicted the
Financial Times .
The Economist concluded that “ Israel
scorns America’s unprecedented peace plan.”
Indeed, the American media narrative contrasted the
American plan for the “Day After” in Gaza, advanced by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and backed by Saudi Arabia, with Netanyahu’s vision,
putting into sharper focus “the widening gap between Netanyahu and the Biden Administration on the occupied territories and future of post-war Gaza.”
Are the Israeli and American visions for the “Day After” as irreconcilable as the pundits suggest?
More likely, they represent the tensions between an American position—that is aligned with the view of Saudi Arabia and other Arab-Sunni governments—and Israeli public concerns over the security threat that an independent Palestinian state would pose. American and Israeli policymakers can try to bridge these differences by setting Palestinian independence as a long-term goal.
Saudi-Israeli Normalization Without a Palestinian State
Saudi Arabia emerged as key to the Biden Administration’s strategy in the Middle East prior to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and even more significantly in its aftermath. The Hamas attack had put on hold
an initial US diplomatic initiative that aimed at normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel: an outcome that would help form an Arab-Israeli strategic partnership to contain Iran. T he plan also included a US security commitment to Riyadh and a green-light to Saudi efforts to enrich uranium.
What the initiative did not include was a pledge to establish an independent Palestinian state.
Earlier reports indicated that the Saudis would not have demanded the re-establishing of the two-state solution as a condition for normalizing ties with Israel. The Saudi interest in a diplomatic détente with Israel as a way of counter-balancing Iran superseded their commitment to end Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories.
