A small but important interview took place at this year’s Aspen Security Forum last week. Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa the son of the King of Bahrain noted that his father normalized relations with Israel without any preconditions.
“We went with zero conditions,” the prince stated. ”We made peace for peace and it has been good for us.”
Ever since the Gaza-Israel war began on October 7th, most observers have assumed the normalization agreement was buried. After all, no Israeli leader will hand the “palestinians” a state after October 7th and according to the American State Department the Saudis have never been prepared to normalize relations with Israel without a “palestinian” state. Given this, the burgeoning Saudi-Israeli normalization agreement has never matured.
Yet, Bahrain’s statement is not an accident. Behind closed doors, Saudi Crown Prince MBS has been indifferent to the need for a “palestinian” state, giving legitimacy to the rumor that it has been the Biden administration who has insisted on a “palestinian” state, not Saudi Arabia. Bahrain’s prince is essentially giving Saudi Arabia some advice. If they want Israel to do its dirty work for them and take on Iran -its time to make “peace for peace,” and leave the “palestinians” behind.
With Biden gone, and Trump potentially on the way to becoming the 47th US President, it may be time for the Saudis to finally throw the “palestinians” under the bus.