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It is still possible for Saudi Arabia to establish relations with Israel, though the Israel-Gaza war means such a deal cannot be made in the current climate, said Dennis Ross, former US envoy to the Middle East.
“Obviously, nothing's going to happen right now,” Mr Ross told reporters during a Tuesday briefing, saying that Israel would be too occupied fighting the war to engage in talks.
“The atmosphere created by what's happening in Gaza obviously makes it difficult for the Saudis as well.”
President Joe Biden and his administration had previously suggested that it was making progress in brokering a deal in which Saudi Arabia would establish relations with Israel via an extension of the Abraham Accords.
It was hoped that the deal would help secure peace in the region, although negotiations were made without input from the Palestinians.
But the surprise Hamas assault on Israel – in which 1,400 people were killed and more than 100 civilians taken hostage – turned what would have been a significant foreign policy achievement for Mr Biden upside down. The US President and much of Washington have pledged full support of Israel's right to self-defence while also pressing for humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
And while Arab nations have roundly condemned Israel's bombardment of Gaza – which has resulted in more than 6,500 deaths – Mr Ross said they privately want Israel to “crush Hamas” because of the group's threat to the region.
“And there's a reason for it. If Hamas appears or emerges from this and looks like it was a winner, that means the ideology rejection was a winner. It means the Iranian axis is a winner,” he said.
Mr Ross, who played a key role in Middle East peace processes during the George H W Bush and Bill Clinton administrations, said the timing of Hamas's attack was not coincidental.
“When I was negotiating in the 1990s, every time we made progress, there would be a suicide bombing by Hamas. Their purpose was to prevent any possible plea of peace and coexistence,” he said.
“And the reason they the timing of this even though was obviously planned over a long period, the timing of this was there fear about the possibility of setting normalisation with Israel.”
His comments echoed that of Mr Biden, who said at a campaign event last week that Hamas attacked because “they knew I was about to sit down with the Saudis”.
In a moment of greater candour, the US President said Saudi Arabia wanted to recognise Israel and “they were about to recognise Israel”.
Any normalisation appears to be in the distant future for now.
Still, in a phone call on Tuesday, Mr Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underscored building on previous negotiations to work towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the White House said in a readout.
For that to happen, Mr Ross suggested that Hamas must be defeated, its military infrastructure destroyed and leadership demolished. And while it cannot be totally eradicated, Mr Ross suggested that its operations can be constrained enough so that Gaza can be reconstructed without Hamas threatening to block those efforts.
“Then you're producing a political outcome that can create an atmosphere where I think the likelihood of the Saudis moving back into this potential deal with Israel becomes much more conceivable,” Mr Ross said.
Latest from the Israel-Gaza war – in pictures
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Palestinians check the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Israeli soldiers and military vehicles near the border with Gaza. EPA -
Palestinians injured in Israeli air raids arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. Getty Images -
Protesters call for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas since the October 7 attack. AFP -
The protest was held near the headquarters of the Israeli Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv. AFP -
Smoke and flames rise from buildings after an Israeli strike on Gaza City. AFP -
Destruction in Gaza City after an Israeli air strike. AFP -
A wounded Palestinian is taken into Al Shifa hospital after Israeli air strikes on Gaza City. AP -
Israelis at a cemetery in Holon during a funeral take cover as a siren warns of incoming rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. AP -
Posters of hostages abducted by Hamas form part of an installation consisting of 224 light pillars erected by the Jerusalem municipality outside Teddy Stadium. AFP -
Supporters of Palestine hold a rally in New York's financial district to demand that American financial institutions stop financing weapons manufacturing. AFP -
Army rescue crews assess the damage after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a building in Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel. Getty Images -
Israeli strikes as seen from a tent camp sheltering displaced Palestinians. Reuters -
Israeli armoured vehicles take part in an operation, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, at a location given as the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
A Palestinian man is comforted as he mourns the death of his daughter and his wife, who were killed by Israeli strikes. Reuters -
Satellite view of damaged areas in the Beit Hanoun district of Gaza as a result of fighting between Israel and Hamas. Reuters -
Beit Hanoun was hit by Israeli missiles. Reuters -
Two brothers on a stretcher after being rescued from beneath the rubble of a destroyed area in Gaza. EPA -
Israeli security forces gather along a cordoned-off street where an apartment building was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza, in Rishon LeZion, near Tel Aviv. AFP -
Rescuers in front of an apartment building hit by a rocket in the Israeli city of Rishon LeZion. AFP -
Red Crescent Society employees and volunteers handle humanitarian aid bound for Gaza at a warehouse in Arish, Egypt. EPA -
Men lower one of the coffins during the funeral of British-Israelis Lianne Sharabi and her daughters Noiya Sharabi, 16, and Yahel Sharabi, 13, in Kfar Harif, Israel. EPA -
An Israeli soldier in a ruined house in the kibbutz of Beeri, near the border with Gaza. EPA -
The aftermath of wide-scale strikes, which Israel says struck Hamas emergency operational apparatus, including war rooms, infrastructure and military headquarters, in Gaza. Reuters -
Palestinians search for casualties after Israeli attacks on houses in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Rescuers look for casualties in Khan Younis. Reuters -
Palestinian Ali Daba and his wife have separated their children and given them bracelets to help identify them in case they are killed in Israeli strikes. Their daughter shows her bracelet at their shelter in Khan Younis. Reuters -
In Tel Aviv, teddy bears with their eyes covered and signs of injury go on show to highlight the young children and babies missing, believed to be being held by Hamas. Getty -
Palestinians near the rubble of a building following overnight Israeli strikes on the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
Members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society distribute aid in Deir Al Balah, in the Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Pro-Israel, left, and pro-Palestine protesters face off during a demonstration in reaction to the Gaza conflict, in central Atlanta, Georgia. EPA -
Orit Meir, the mother of Almog Meir Jan who was taken hostage by Hamas while attending the Nova festival in Israel, at the family's home in Or Yehuda. Reuters -
A soldier puts on protective gear in Ramle, Israel, as he prepares to identify those killed by Hamas during the October 7 attack. Getty Images -
Palestinians wounded in Israeli air strikes arrive at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. Getty Images -
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, centre, speaks with the father of one of the hostages held by Hamas, before a UN Security Council meeting in New York. EPA -
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attend a meeting in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. EPA -
Survivors of Israel's bombardment of Gaza being treated at a trauma ward at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. AFP -
Smoke rises after an air strike on Gaza, as seen from southern Israel. Reuters -
A woman holds placards identifying one of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas during a demonstration in Tel Aviv. AFP
