RSS
Prospects of Saudi Ties to Israel Elusive as Trump Seeks $1 Trillion Bonanza

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the 45th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Kuwait city, Kuwait, Dec. 1, 2024. Photo: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS
When US President Donald Trump lands in Riyadh on Tuesday, he will be greeted with opulent ceremonies, gilded palaces and the prospect of $1 trillion in investments. But, the raging war in Gaza has denied him one goal he has long craved: Saudi-Israel normalization.
Behind the scenes, US officials are quietly pressing Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza – one of Saudi Arabia’s preconditions for any re-start of normalization talks, said two Gulf sources close to official circles and a US official.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told an audience at the Israeli embassy in Washington this week that he imminently expected progress on expanding the Abraham Accords, a set of deals brokered by Trump in his first term under which Arab states including the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco recognized Israel.
“We think we will have some or a lot of announcements very, very shortly, which we hope will yield progress by next year,” Witkoff said in a video of his speech. He is expected to accompany Trump on his visit to the Middle East.
However, opposition by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a permanent stop to the war or to the creation of a Palestinian state make progress on similar talks with Riyadh unlikely, two of the sources said.
Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel as legitimate, meaning the Middle East’s two most advanced economies and military powers do not have formal diplomatic ties. Supporters of normalizing relations say it would bring stability and prosperity to the region, while countering Iran’s influence.
Establishing ties has become especially toxic for Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza.
As such, the issue, central to bilateral talks in Trump’s first term, has effectively been de-linked from economic and other security matters between Washington and the kingdom, according to six other sources Reuters spoke with for this story, including two Saudi and two US officials. The people all asked to remain anonymous to speak about sensitive diplomatic conversations.
Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, needs the Gaza war to end and a credible path to a Palestinian state “before he re-engages with the issue of normalization,” said Dennis Ross, a former US negotiator.
In the meantime, Washington and Riyadh will focus Trump’s trip largely on the economic partnership and other regional matters, according to the six sources. Lucrative investments such as major deals in arms, mega-projects and artificial intelligence are in play, officials from both sides stressed.
The approach was cemented in diplomatic talks between Saudi and US officials ahead of the trip, the first formal state visit of Trump’s second term, they said.
Trump’s stated aim is to secure a trillion-dollar investment in US companies, building on an initial commitment of $600 billion pledged by the crown prince.
The wealthy kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, knows the ritual well: dazzle the guest, secure the favor. The goal, the sources told Reuters, is to evade diplomatic landmines and perhaps, one said, to win concessions from Trump on the Gaza war and its aftermath.
“The Trump administration wants this trip to be a big deal. That means lots of splashy deal announcements and collaborations that can be sold as being good for America,” said Robert Mogielnicki, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, a think tank in Washington.
“Normalizing ties with Israel is a much heavier lift than rolling out the red carpet for President Trump and announcing investment deals,” he said.
A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on any understanding reached ahead of the trip, saying Trump “will look to strengthen ties between the United States and our Arab Gulf partners during the visits.”
The Saudi government communications office did not reply to a request for comment.
COURTING THE KINGDOM
Before Hamas launched its Oct.7 attacks on Israel – killing 1,200 people and sparking the devastating Israeli offensive into Gaza – the crown prince was finalizing a landmark diplomatic agreement: a US defense pact in exchange for Riyadh recognizing Israel.
Frustrated by the impact of Gaza’s prolonged crisis on normalization efforts, Trump could use his visit to unveil a US framework to end the 18-month war, the two Gulf sources said.
The plan could create a transitional government and new security arrangements for post-war Gaza – potentially reshaping regional diplomacy and opening the door to future normalization talks, they said.
Underscoring the high-stakes diplomacy underway, Trump met privately with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Thursday to discuss the war and nuclear talks with Iran, Axios reported.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to questions about Trump’s discussions on Gaza.
Trump conspicuously has not announced a visit to Israel as part of his tour of the region. Two diplomats noted the US president has recently refrained from talking about his “Gaza Riviera” plan that enraged the Arab world with the suggestion of resettling the entire Gazan population and US ownership of the strip.
In the build up to the trip, Washington has taken a number of actions that are positive for Saudi Arabia. An agreement to stop US bombing of the Houthis in Yemen is in line with a Saudi ceasefire there. Washington has also de-linked civil nuclear talks from the normalization question.
The stalled Saudi-US defense pact, initially conceived as a formal treaty, was revived in the scaled back form of security guarantees late in the Biden presidency to bypass congressional opposition.
The Trump administration has now picked up those talks, along with the discussions about a civilian nuclear agreement, three of the sources said, while cautioning that it will take time to define terms.
CHINA INFLUENCE
Trump’s Saudi trip is his first formal state visit and second foreign trip since his re-election, after attending the pope’s funeral in Rome. He will also visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Beneath the showmanship of Trump’s visits, diplomats say, lie also a calculated US effort to reassert influence and reshape economic alignments in a region where Beijing – Washington’s chief economic rival – has steadily expanded its foothold at the heart of the petrodollar system.
Trump’s first trip abroad in his first term also began in Riyadh, where he unveiled $350 billion in Saudi investments.
Trump commands deep trust from the Saudi leadership, rooted in the close ties during his first term – a period defined by large arms deals and steadfast US backing for Bin Salman, even as global outrage erupted over the killing of columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies now plan to urge Trump to ease U.S. regulations that have increasingly deterred foreign investment, particularly in sectors deemed part of America’s “critical national infrastructure,” five industry sources said.
In meetings with U.S. officials, Saudi ministers will advocate for a more business-friendly climate, especially at a time when China is aggressively courting Gulf capital, the industry sources said.
While countering China’s economic rise may top Trump’s foreign policy agenda, it won’t be easy in Saudi Arabia. Since the launch of Vision 2030, China has become integral to the kingdom’s plans, dominating sectors from energy and infrastructure to renewables.
The post Prospects of Saudi Ties to Israel Elusive as Trump Seeks $1 Trillion Bonanza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Columbia University Newspaper Endorses Mamdani for New York City Mayor

Candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Democratic New York City mayoral primary debate, June 4, 2025, in New York, US. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS
Columbia University’s flagship newspaper, The Columbia Daily Spectator, has endorsed a far-left New York City mayoral candidate who has been accused of antisemitism and made anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career.
The Spectator’s editorial board issued the endorsement of Zohran Mamdani, a representative in the New York State Assembly, in a rare moment of summer activity, as most of the university’s student body is on holiday. It comes as the university’s leadership is reportedly taking steps to deal with a surge of campus antisemitism that captured national attention and led the Trump administration to pull federal funding over the school’s alleged failure to combat the crisis.
“Our endorsements reflect the consensus opinion of the editorial board, but we recognize that voters may weigh these issues differently,” the paper said on Tuesday. “As Spectator‘s editorial board, we endorse Zohran Mamdani as our top choice for New York City Mayor. Currently ranked second in most polls, the New York State Assembly member and his campaign have resonated with New Yorkers who have been repeatedly disappointed by the current administration.”
It added, “The Democratic Socialist has grounded his campaign in bread-and-butter issues such as universal child care, free public transportation, and affordable housing, echoing Sen. Bernie Sanders’ brand of economic populism.”
The paper’s choice of Mamdani prompted a slew of responses on social media. A native of Uganda born to parents from India, one of whom is an Oscar nominated filmmaker, Mamdani has refused to recognize the Jewish state of Israel, advocated adoption of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, and suggested that New York City — home to the world’s largest Jewish community outside of Israel — will divest from the country if he is elected.
Earlier this month, he refused to distance himself from the phrase “globalize the intifada,” a slogan that is believed to have inspired a wave of anti-Jewish violence which culminated in the murder of two young Israeli diplomats outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC in May. The Democratic mayoral candidate went as far as comparing the phrase to the motivations behind the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, prompting a rebuke from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“I think what’s difficult is that the very word has been used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means struggle,” Mamdani said on the Bulwark podcast. “And as a Muslim man who grew up post-9/11, I’m too familiar in the way in which Arabic words can be twisted, can be distorted, can be used to justify any kind of meaning.”
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was an effort by Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland to fight back as they were set to be deported to concentration camps and killed during the Holocaust. In contrast, the slogan “globalize the intifada” references previous periods of sustained Palestinian terrorism against Jews and Israels known as intifadas, or uprisings.
On another occasion, years before he emerged as a candidate for mayor, Mamdani appeared to threaten that a “third intifada” was forthcoming.
Following the Spectator’s declaration of support for his campaign, Columbia University professor Shai Davidai charged that the paper had violated laws which prevent nonprofit entities, such as the Spectator, from entering the fray of electoral politics.
“The Columbia Spectator has just breached its non-profit status by endorsing a political candidate,” Davidai said. “Please join me in filing a formal complaint with the IRS against the Spectator Publishing Company. It’s time to make our colleges a partisan-free space for education.”
Elisha Baker, who studies Middle East History at Columbia University, said in a statement shared with The Algemeiner and other outlets that the Spectator is essentially throwing its support behind a surge of antisemitic violence called for by anti-Zionists of Mamdani’s mold.
“Zohran Mamdani is a threat to Jews in NYC and Americans everywhere. He marches with the antisemitic and anti-American mob,” Baker said. “A vote for Mamdani is a vote for antisemitism and continued pro-terror chaos on our streets. Especially since the tragic attacks in DC and Boulder, a vote for Mamdani is nothing short of a vote for Jews to stay inside.”
New York City will ultimately determine the merit of the case against the mayoral candidate, who would be the favorite to win the November general election if he prevails over his Democratic opponents, including former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, during Tuesday’s primary.
During the campaign, Cuomo criticized Mamdani’s links to the anti-Zionist movement.
“Yesterday when Zohran Mamdani was asked a direct question about what he thought of the phrase ‘globalize the intifada,’ he dismissed it as ‘language’ ‘that is subject to interpretation,’ Cuomo said in a statement earlier this month. “That is not only wrong – it is dangerous. At a time when we are seeing antisemitism on the rise and in fact witnessing once again violence against Jews resulting in their deaths in Washington DC or their burning in Denver – we know all too well that words matter. They fuel hate. They fuel murder. As the US Holocaust Museum so aptly said, all leaders or those running for office must condemn the use of this battle cry. There are no two sides here.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Columbia University Newspaper Endorses Mamdani for New York City Mayor first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Calls for UN to Condemn Attacks on Aid Workers, Collaborate Amid Mass ‘Disinformation’

Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has called on the United Nations to publicly condemn the killing of aid workers in Gaza and to collaborate in order to provide relief to the enclave’s population, accusing the UN of perpetuating a “vast disinformation campaign” aimed at tarnishing the US- and Israel-backed foundation’s image.
In a letter sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, GHF executive chairman Rev. Johnnie Moore defended the foundation’s efforts to distribute aid to the civilians of Gaza, the Palestinian enclave that has been ruled by the Hamas terrorist group for nearly two decades.
“Nearly 40 million meals have been distributed in our first month of operations from our Secure Distribution Sites,” Moore wrote, adding that the program has successfully distributed emergency aid to Palestinians in “desperate need” despite constantly operating “under grave threat.”
Moore also criticized the UN, saying that the GHF has “shared our data and our logistical approach” with the global body in hopes of forging a collaboration effort between the two entities. He lamented that the UN has “neither partnered with GHF nor even acknowledged our operational successes.”
“Our work has continued with normal operations amidst an expanding regional conflict, and also a vast disinformation campaign which has sought to stop us from feeding people from the moment we started,” Moore continued. “We regret that your own office has been a victim of this disinformation campaign which has only threatened to further harm the Gazan people.”
The GHF was created because Hamas routinely steals humanitarian aid, leaving civilians facing severe shortages. Documents released by the Israeli military earlier this month showed that Hamas operatives violently took control of approximately 25 percent of incoming aid shipments, which they then resold to civilians at inflated prices.
The GHF operates independently from UN-backed mechanisms, which Hamas has sought to reinstate, arguing that these frameworks are more neutral. Israeli and American officials have rejected those calls, saying Hamas previously exploited UN-run systems to siphon aid for its war effort. The UN has denied those allegations while expressing concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach food distribution points.
Since the GHF launched operations in late May, there have been reports of Palestinians being shot near distribution sites. In specific cases, Israel has acknowledged targeting what it believed to be armed Hamas operatives using civilians as cover.
In his letter, Moore also criticized the UN for staying “absolutely silent in the wake of a targeted killing of GHF personnel nearly two weeks ago.”
“Their murder was not only a violation of international law, it was an affront to the very principles the UN purports to defend,” the GHF chairman added. He called on the UN to “publicly condemn the targeting of humanitarian workers in Gaza, and to denounce the obstruction of aid by Hamas and other armed factions.”
Moore’s letter came about two weeks after the GHF said that, on the night of June 11, several of its aid workers were killed when Hamas gunmen attacked a bus transporting local staffers.
The group said the vehicle was targeted as it carried more than 20 workers to a distribution site near the city of Khan Younis. In a statement Thursday, GHF said that at least people people were killed and several more were injured.
The bus attack followed days of threats from Hamas directed at the foundation and its workers.
According to Moore, the UN can help the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by working directly with GHD to help distribute aid “at scale” to needy civilians while bypassing “intermediaries.”
“The only credible response to food insecurity is food delivery. Anything less is a deferral of responsibility. We are ready to work with other humanitarian providers to deliver food straight to the Palestinian people and restore order to a system plagued by desperation and disorder,” Moore wrote.
The post Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Calls for UN to Condemn Attacks on Aid Workers, Collaborate Amid Mass ‘Disinformation’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Netanyahu Declares Historic Win, Says Israel Removed Iran’s Nuclear Threat in 12-Day War

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel in its 12 days of war with Iran had removed the threat of nuclear annihilation and was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its program.
“We have removed two immediate existential threats to us – the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles,” he said in video remarks issued by his office.
“If anyone in Iran tries to revive this project, we will work with the same determination and strength to thwart any such attempt. I repeat, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”
Netanyahu called it a historic victory that would stand for generations.
He said Israel never had a better friend in the White House than President Donald Trump, whose US military had dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear sites in an attack over the weekend.
“Our friend President Trump has rallied to our side in an unprecedented way. Under his direction, the United States military destroyed the underground enrichment site at Fordow,” Netanyahu said.
He spoke hours after Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Trump said had violated a truce with Iran negotiated by Washington, Israel‘s closest ally.
Netanyahu said Israel‘s work was unfinished. He cited the war against Iran’s ally Hamas in Gaza, where 50 hostages remain in captivity since the Palestinian terrorist group carried out a surprise attack on October 7, 2023.
About 20 are believed to be alive.
“We must complete the campaign against the Iranian axis, defeat Hamas, and bring about the release of all the hostages, both living and dead,” he said.
The post Netanyahu Declares Historic Win, Says Israel Removed Iran’s Nuclear Threat in 12-Day War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.