Secretary of State Antony Blinken said early on Friday that Saudi Arabian normalization of ties with Israel was still possible. "There remains an opportunity" to do that if a ceasefire was achieved in Gaza," Blinken said in a press briefing in Haiti.
Saudi Arabia told the U.S. its position stands that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem, and Israeli "aggression" on the Gaza Strip stops, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement early in July.
The secretary said it was incumbent on both Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas to say yes on remaining issues to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, which has faced obstacles in negotiations across months. "Based on what I have seen, 90% is agreed but there are a few critical issues that remain," he said adding that there were also some gaps in the agreement in how Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are exchanged.
"I expect in the coming days, we will share with Israel, and they (Qatar and Egypt) will share with Hamas our thoughts, the three of us, on exactly how to resolve remaining outstanding questions," Blinken said, referring to the U.S. and mediators Qatar and Egypt.
The Biden administration was preparing a new bridging proposal to break through the impasse in negotiations. It is expected to be presented in the coming days.
This week, Turkey, five Arab countries including regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority joined Egypt in rejecting Israel's demand to keep its troops deployed in the Philadelphi corridor.