News - Middle East: The National Interest reported that the step of the Saudi Crown Prince and the de facto ruler of the Kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman, signing on normalization with Israeli enemy would have the same magnitude as the late Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat's signing of the Camp David Accords with Israel.

MBS is well aware that reconciliation of Israel also will lead to his assassination as in 1981 in which the step led to the assassination of Sadat as well.

As a result, the crown prince must gauge where the winds of regime stability are heading. Increased tensions over the Israel-Palestine issue also raise another specter that, if left unchecked, could challenge MBS’ hold on power.

Negotiations for the accords were mediated by the United States under the Trump administration, and President Joe Biden has expressed interest in continuing the normalization process between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Regardless of who is president, it is a fundamental American interest to further Israel’s regional integration and broader acceptance into the Middle East.

Comments made by Biden in Israel underscore his interest in continuing this effort. “We will also continue building on the Abraham Accords, which I strongly support because they deepen Israel’s integration into the broader region and establish lasting ties for business, cooperation and tourism,” Biden said during a press conference in Jerusalem.

The U.S.-Saudi relationship, bounded by oil and security, is being challenged by changing American interests and objectives in the Middle East that do not necessarily align with Saudi expectations.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia’s hotheaded crown prince (and now prime minister), Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS), has taken actions at home and abroad that have harmed U.S.-Saudi ties. Most notably, the mafia-style murder of Saudi journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul soured MBS’ image as a statesman throughout the region and the international community.

Despite tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United States, it will be a win-win for the United States if MBS decides to make a dramatic show of statesmanship and join the accords. Benjamin Netanyahu, who will soon be Israel’s prime minister once again, may want to continue the normalization process. Netanyahu was the first Israeli leader to sign the Abraham Accords, and the geopolitical conditions in the region make further normalization possible. Simultaneously, the Saudi crown prince sees Israel as a “potential ally, not an enemy.”

MBS recognizes the benefits of normalizing relations with Israel. However, such a decision comes with domestic risks, the biggest of which is the Palestinian issue. Saudi Arabia has made clear for years that it won’t join the Abraham Accords without progress on a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian authorities.

Extremist groups could latch onto Israeli-Saudi reconciliation and foment instability within the larger region, leaving MBS in a vulnerable position domestically. Moreover, the Saudi public’s grievances over normalization could be taken advantage of by extremists. Increased terrorist activity and public dissent would scare away Western and Chinese investors, which MBS needs to create a diversified economy and maintain economic legitimacy.

Source: National Interest