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American Foreign Policy in the Middle East Hinges on Saudi Arabia
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives US President Joe Biden at Al Salman Palace upon his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. Photo: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS
It is time for America to get off its back heel and start proactively securing the Middle East. Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas is a significant hurdle, but it also presents an opportunity for transformative peace once the conflict ends. The key to unlocking this potential lies with Saudi Arabia.
Israel has said that the conflict with Hamas could last several more months. When it ends, Arab countries will be hard-pressed to work together with Israel.
The 2020 Abraham Accords established diplomatic ties between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan. In the months before the October 7 attack, there were also serious negotiations to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The Israel-Hamas conflict halted those talks. Hamas, with support from Saudi Arabia’s mutual enemy, Iran, perfectly timed its attack to undermine a normalization pact between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
We cannot afford to let Iran and Hamas derail what would be a critically beneficial relationship for all sides. America needs to proactively seek out an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is in a unique position. The country’s oil wealth has given it a tremendous amount of influence and independence. America and China are both heavily invested in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis purchase more than $100 billion worth of weapons and defense equipment from the US each year.
To capitalize on this unique standing, Saudi Arabia could lead the way in revitalizing Gaza post-conflict. By focusing on reconstruction, infrastructure development, and humanitarian assistance, Saudi Arabia can ensure that support for the Palestinian people is used constructively, avoiding the pitfalls of previous aid efforts that inadvertently empowered Hamas.
These factors give Saudi Arabia a weight that other regional actors lack. If the US and Israel want to expand the Abraham Accords in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, they must start with Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis have three broad strategic objectives: Increasing their stature on the international stage, becoming less reliant on oil revenue, and countering Iran.
Saudi Arabia has captured headlines recently with the acquisition of major sports franchises, tournaments, and players in an attempt to make itself an international cultural force. A major obstacle has been a reputation for oppression and human rights violations.
By utilizing its wealth and influence to help revitalize the Palestinian people, Saudi Arabia would become a true global ambassador.
Neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority is qualified to lead the Palestinian people. Saudi Arabia, perhaps working alongside more moderate and technocratic Palestinians, could offer both financial stability and leadership support. It would gain a stake and say in the future of the Palestinian people. The money that the Saudis would invest would not be used to fund Hamas, like previous aid from Arab countries, but for reconstruction, infrastructure, and humanitarian assistance.
Stabilizing the Middle East also makes sense from an economic perspective. Saudi Arabia needs foreign investors to diversify its oil-dependent economy. A peaceful and stable Middle East, forged mainly by the Saudis, would go a long way towards increasing investments.
The final factor to consider in a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia is Iran. Iran is a mortal enemy of both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been involved in a war against the Houthis, an Iranian proxy, in Yemen. Although there is currently a ceasefire in place, Saudi Arabia and Iran remain deeply hostile towards each other.
Recently, the Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and disrupting international commerce, as well as firing missiles and drones at Israel. An Israeli-Saudi peace agreement would further those two countries’ ability to counter Iran and confront the Houthi threat.
Another significant benefit to an Israeli-Saudi accord would be the possibility of realizing the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
IMEC would consist of a ship-rail-transit network from India across the Middle East to Europe, and would include both Israel and Saudi Arabia. The railway would boost economic growth in the region and beyond, provide an alternative to shipping goods through the Red Sea or around the Cape of Good Hope, and stand as a bulwark against China’s Belt and Road initiative.
IMEC has been put on hold due to the Israel-Hamas war. However, it is another long-term benefit that can be accrued through an Israeli-Saudi deal.
The United States must seize this moment to broker a deal that leverages Saudi Arabia’s potential as a stabilizing force and a beacon of progress in the Middle East. Such an agreement would not only be in America’s interest, but would also herald a new chapter of peace and prosperity for the entire region.
Gregg Roman is director of the Middle East Forum and a former official at the Israeli Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.
The post American Foreign Policy in the Middle East Hinges on Saudi Arabia first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.