In the midst of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s clandestine trip to Moscow earlier this month, initial rumors surfaced falsely indicated that the Israeli leader met with Arab leaders. These rumors raised some eyebrows of potential coordination between Israel and Arab countries without ties to the Jewish state, particularly Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries.
Moreover, any Israeli air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would require the use of Saudi Arabian or Iraqi air space. Because of the negative ramifications towards the United States by Iraqis for permitting Israel fly-over authority, any air strike would likely incorporate Saudi territory. Rumors circulated earlier this year that Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Saudi officials to secure fly-over permission.
A new INSS report highlights another benefit of improved Israel-Gulf state relations, namely money. The financial support by Gulf states for the peace process would prop-up a young Palestinian state and help propel pan-Arab support for a peace deal. The report states:
“Furthermore, the Gulf states might give added momentum to the peace process, and if and when an Israel-Palestinian/Arab peace agreement is signed, they may help finance it….
“At most, the future role the Gulf states will likely be that of donors, for example by financing joint Israeli-Palestinian projects, or of facilitators, by hosting rounds of talks at home.”
Knowing the key role that Saudi Arabia would play in peace talks, U.S. officials recently urged Gulf States to normalize ties with Israel.
