Israel resists grand bargain as US, Saudi officials work on security pact

American and Saudi officials have tried to revive prospects for a deal by demanding more from Israel — a cease-fire in Gaza and irreversible steps toward the founding of a Palestinian nation.

Now those officials say they are close to a final agreement on the main elements of what the Saudis want from the deal: A US-Saudi mutual defence pact and cooperation on a civilian nuclear program in the kingdom. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi leader, about these matters in private on his visit last month to Riyadh, according to the State Department.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has rebuffed calls for the creation of a Palestinian state, saying that it would become a “terror haven.”

Since Blinken’s visit to Saudi Arabia, American and Saudi officials have begun challenging Netanyahu by publicly saying they are getting closer to agreement on a package that they will offer Israel. Netanyahu can either take the megadeal and move toward regional peace and potential security cooperation with Saudi Arabia that could counter Iran, their shared adversary.

“We continue to work to finalise both the bilateral pieces of such an agreement as well as what the pathway to an independent Palestinian state would look like,” Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, said this month.

US officials have emphasized that Israel must agree to a Palestinian state for any agreement to be finalised.