With US President Donald Trump coming in to visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank, Arab officials are prepared to reward Israel for at least taking steps toward the goal of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
According to the report, the idea is outlined in an unreleased discussion paper shared among several Gulf countries where if the Jewish state were to take substantive action to try to reach peace with the Palestinians, in return Gulf States would lift some trade restrictions, open direct telecommunications links, allow Israeli aircraft to overfly their countries, and open up the region for Israeli trade and business.
The Gulf States are aiming to cooperate with Trump, who has stated his keen interest in reaching a peace agreement.
“Much more is going on now than any time in the past,” Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told the Journal. “It’s almost a revolution in the Middle East.”
Already, Israeli technology, including for surveillance, is being shared with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Chagai Tzuriel, director-general of Israel’s Intelligence Ministry, said that a lot of progress is being made out of the public eye.