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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. 

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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US House Members Ask Marco Rubio to Bar Turkey From Rejoining F-35 Program

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard

A bipartisan coalition of more than 40 US lawmakers is pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prevent Turkey from rejoining the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, citing ongoing national security concerns and violations of US law.

Members of Congress on Thursday warned that lifting existing sanctions or readmitting Turkey to the US F-35 fifth-generation fighter program would “jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems” and risk exposing sensitive US military technology to Russia. The letter pointed to Ankara’s 2017 purchase of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, despite repeated US warnings, as the central reason Turkey was expelled from the multibillion-dollar fighter jet program in 2019.

“The S-400 poses a direct threat to US aircraft, including the F-16 and F-35,” the lawmakers wrote. “If operated alongside these platforms, it risks exposing sensitive military technology to Russian intelligence.”

The group of signatories, spanning both parties, stressed that Turkey still possesses the Russian weapons systems and has shown “no willingness to comply with US law.” They urged Rubio and the Trump administration to uphold the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and maintain Ankara’s exclusion from the F-35 program until the S-400s are fully removed.

The letter comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed during a NATO summit in June that Ankara and Washington have begun discussing Turkey’s readmission into the program.

Lawmakers argued that reversing course now would undermine both US credibility and allied confidence in American defense commitments. They also warned it could disrupt development of the next-generation fighter jet announced by the administration earlier this year.

“This is not a partisan issue,” the letter emphasized. “We must continue to hold allies and adversaries alike accountable when their actions threaten US interests.”

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US Lawmakers Urge Treasury to Investigate Whether Irish Bill Targeting Israel Violates Anti-Boycott Law

A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne

A group of US lawmakers is calling on the Treasury Department to investigate and potentially penalize Ireland over proposed legislation targeting Israeli goods, warning that the move could trigger sanctions under longstanding US anti-boycott laws.

In a letter sent on Thursday to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 16 Republican members of Congress expressed “serious concerns” about Ireland’s recent legislative push to ban trade with territories under Israeli administration, including the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), called for the US to “send a clear signal” that any attempts to economically isolate Israel will “carry consequences.”

The Irish measure, introduced by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris, seeks to prohibit the import of goods and services originating from what the legislation refers to as “occupied Palestinian territories,” including Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Supporters say the bill aligns with international law and human rights principles, while opponents, including the signatories of the letter, characterize it as a direct extension of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel as a step toward the destruction of the world’s lone Jewish state.

Some US lawmakers have also described the Irish bill as an example of “antisemitic hate” that could risk hurting relations between Dublin and Washington.

“Such policies not only promote economic discrimination but also create legal uncertainty for US companies operating in Ireland,” the lawmakers wrote in this week’s letter, urging Bessent to determine whether Ireland’s actions qualify as participation in an “unsanctioned international boycott” under Section 999 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as the Ribicoff Amendment.

Under that statute, the Treasury Department is required to maintain a list of countries that pressure companies to comply with international boycotts not sanctioned by the US. Inclusion on the list carries tax-reporting burdens and possible penalties for American firms and individuals doing business in those nations.

“If the criteria are met, Ireland should be added to the boycott list,” the letter said, arguing that such a step would help protect US companies from legal exposure and reaffirm American opposition to economic efforts aimed at isolating Israel.

Legal experts have argued that if the Irish bill becomes law, it could chase American capital out of the country while also hurting companies that do business with Ireland. Under US law, it is illegal for American companies to participate in boycotts of Israel backed by foreign governments. Several US states have also gone beyond federal restrictions to pass separate measures that bar companies from receiving state contracts if they boycott Israel.

Ireland has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel on the international stage since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza, leading the Jewish state to shutter its embassy in Dublin.

Last year, Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state, a decision that Israel described as a “reward for terrorism.”

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US Families File Lawsuit Accusing UNRWA of Supporting Hamas, Hezbollah

A truck, marked with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, Nov. 27, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

American families of victims of Hamas and Hezbollah attacks have filed a lawsuit against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing the organization of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing material support to the Islamist terror groups behind the deadly assaults.

Last week, more than 200 families filed a lawsuit in a Washington, DC district court accusing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing funding and support to Hamas and Hezbollah, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

The lawsuit alleges that UNRWA employs staff with direct ties to the Iran-backed terror group, including individuals allegedly involved in carrying out attacks against the Jewish state.

However, UNRWA has firmly denied the allegations, labeling them as “baseless” and condemning the lawsuit as “meritless, absurd, dangerous, and morally reprehensible.”

According to the organization, the lawsuit is part of a wider campaign of “misinformation and lawfare” targeting its work in the Gaza Strip, where it says Palestinians are enduring “mass, deliberate and forced starvation.”

The UN agency reports that more than 150,000 donors across the United States have supported its programs providing food, medical aid, education, and trauma assistance in the war-torn enclave amid the ongoing conflict.

In a press release, UNRWA USA affirmed that it will continue its humanitarian efforts despite facing legal challenges aimed at undermining its work.

“Starvation does not pause for politics. Neither will we,” the statement read.

Last year, Israeli security documents revealed that of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza, 440 were actively involved in Hamas’s military operations, with 2,000 registered as Hamas operatives.

According to these documents, at least nine UNRWA employees took part directly in the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

Israeli officials also uncovered a large Hamas data center beneath UNRWA headquarters, with cables running through the facility above, and found that Hamas also stored weapons in other UNRWA sites.

The UN agency has also aligned with Hamas in efforts against the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli and US-backed program that delivers aid directly to Palestinians, blocking Hamas from diverting supplies for terror activities and selling them at inflated prices.

These Israeli intelligence documents also revealed that a senior Hamas leader, killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024, had served as the head of the UNRWA teachers’ union in Lebanon, where Lebanon is based,

UNRWA’s education programs have been found by IMPACT-se, an international organization that monitors global education, to contribute to the radicalization of younger generations of Palestinians.

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