by William Koenig
On September 22, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the great possibility of a historic peace deal with the Saudis at the UN. Moreover, Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman enthusiastically spoke of a possible normalization agreement with Israel.
Two weeks later, Israel was savagely attacked by Hamas terrorists. This tragedy led to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coming under fire for inadequate preparation, Israeli intelligence failures, poor IDF preparation, while plummeting in the polls.
He went from a major legacy hope with the Saudis to fighting for political survival in two weeks. And he will forever live in the minds of Israelis and Jews around the world for not having Israel prepared for the Hamas invasion.
The following are Netanyahu’s and bin Salman’s quotes and additional new from this week.
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Netanyahu tells UN that Israel is ‘at the cusp’ of historic peace with Saudi Arabia
Source: Times of Israel
Taking the stage Friday, September 22, 2023, at the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is “at the cusp” of a historic peace agreement with Saudi Arabia, a deal he predicted will transform the Middle East.
“Such a peace will go a long way to ending the Arab-Israeli conflict,” said Netanyahu, addressing the gathering for the 12th time. “It will encourage other Arab states to normalize their relations with Israel. It will enhance the prospects of peace with the Palestinians. It will encourage a broader reconciliation between Judaism and Islam, between Jerusalem and Mecca, between the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael.”
“All these are tremendous blessings.”
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Saudi crown prince: Israel and Saudi Arabia moving closer to normalization ‘every day’
Source: Times of Israel
Bin Salman was asked whether he had any issue with making peace with the current hardline Israeli government led by Netanyahu, on Wednesday September 20, 2023. He responded that Saudi policy is not “to interfere with who’s running each country” and that it works with whoever is in charge.
“Now, we don’t have a relation with Israel, but if the Biden administration succeeded in making, I believe, the biggest historical deal since the end of the Cold War, then we’re going to start a relationship and that relationship continues regardless of who’s running Israel,” the crown prince said.
““If we have a breakthrough [toward] reaching a deal that gives the Palestinians their needs and makes the region calm, we’re going to work with whoever’s there.”
Pressed on what kind of concessions he would like to see on the Palestinian front, MBS declined to elaborate but said “I want to see really a good life for the Palestinians.”
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Saudis and Netanyahu from October 7-13:
In first, Saudi Arabia’s bin Salman speaks to Iran’s Raisi about Israel-Hamas war
Source: Times of Israel
Saudi crown prince tells Iran’s president he is communicating with ‘all international’ parties, Tehran says call focused on ‘need to end war crimes against Palestine’
Netanyahu suffers massive loss of faith from Israelis - poll
Source: Jerusalem Post
The poll puts opposition parties at a vast majority with 78 seats compared to the coalition's 42.
Other articles:
The Saudi-Israeli Deal Is Likely Off. MBS May Have Gotten What He Wants Anyway - Vanity Fair
How can Israel recover from this military blunder – comment - Jerusalem Post
CCP Media Share Post Warning to US Not to 'Interfere' With Taiwan Strait Amid Hamas Attack on Israel - Epoch Times