US Secretary of State Mark Rubio appeared confident that many Arab countries will smooth their relations this year Israelincluded in the so -called “Abraham Agreements”.
“I think we will soon have good news, certainly before the end of the year, for some countries ready to join this alliance,” Israel said, Mark Rubio said in a Congress committee, but without specifying which countries he says.
In 2020 Abraham’s agreements, which Donald Trump promoted during his first term in the White House, led to normalizing relations between Israel and three Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
But many other countries have so far refused to join these agreements, such as Saudi Arabia and Israeli neighbors, Syria and Lebanon.
Last week, during a visit to Riyadh, Trump expressed hope that Saudi Arabia would soon normalize its relations with Israel.
Saudi Arabia, however, excludes any such possibility unless an independent Palestinian state is created, a plan opposed by the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
When asked about Saudi Arabia’s attitude, Rubio said that the country “always has the intention” to normalize its relations with Israel.
“Some circumstances are an obstacle, such as October 7th (the day of Hamas members attacked Israel, which led to the Gaza War) but the Saudis are still interesting, as are the Israelis,” he said.