Senators urge Biden to be tough with looming Israel-Saudi deal
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The senators said US President Joe Biden must make sure Israel provides “clearly defined” steps toward a two-state solution.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
WASHINGTON – A group of United States lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to get substantial concessions as his team pursues normalisation between Saudi Arabia and Israel, highlighting congressional scepticism about the terms of a possible deal.
A group of 20 senators, led by Democrats Chris Murphy and Chris Van Hollen, questioned why the US should offer Saudi Arabia greater security guarantees and assistance with a civilian nuclear programme, according to a letter they wrote on Oct 4.
They said Mr Biden must make sure Israel provides “meaningful, clearly defined and enforceable” steps towards a two-state solution with Palestinian leadership.
The letter calls Saudi Arabia “an authoritarian regime which regularly undermines US interests in the region, has a deeply concerning human rights record, and has pursued an aggressive and reckless foreign policy agenda”.
The administration has not given details about the state of its conversations with Saudi Arabia and Israel.
People familiar with the matter say the White House is considering defence treaties with both as part of the push to get them to formally recognise each other. BLOOMBERG
