The date of the summit between the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held on Monday in Riyadh was not chosen at random. Mohammed bin Salman took advantage of the event to give the West the pulse of the Arab world, but above all to provide a reminder to the United States against the backdrop of a potential normalization of relations with Israel.
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A major emergency summit between the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation was held on Monday in Saudi Arabia. More than 70 representatives came to discuss the ongoing wars between Israel and the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, reports our correspondent in Riyadh, Joseph Clement. An opportunity for Saudi Arabia to give the point of view of the Muslim world to the West.
The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman also took advantage of this forum at home to talk about genocide and massacres committed according to him against the Palestinian and Lebanese people, setting the tone of the summit with regard to Israel. “ We call on the international community to uphold its responsibilities in upholding peace and security by stopping Israeli aggression against our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon. », Supported MBS.
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An opportunity also to bounce back on the American political calendar. “ Timing is very importantexplains Hasni Abidi, from the Center for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World, at the microphone of Nicolas Falez. Mohamed ben Salman having called for this summit during the electoral campaign, he wanted to send a clear message to the future tenant of the White House by saying that the Arab world and the Muslim world also have specifications and the United States must listen to them “.
Towards a normalization of Saudi Arabia/Israel relations under the Trump mandate?
The fact remains that if the Saudi discourse remains hostile to Israelthe Sunni country could well move towards the normalization of relations with the Hebrew state. “ I think Saudi Arabia was ready (to normalization) below (the American presidency) of Joe Biden, the events of October 7 decided otherwise », continues Hasni Abidi.
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Could Trump’s election be a tipping point? “ I think that Bin Salman and Netanyahu did not want to offer this normalization under the Biden administrationconcludes the political scientist. The question that arises today is whether Benyamin Netanyahu is ready to make concessions to obtain this great prize coveted by the American administration: normalization between the two heavyweights of the region. »
Obviously, this will be conditional on an evolution in the situation of the Palestinian people.