by Eliav Breuer
Saudi and Syrian nationals spoke at a rare conference in the Knesset, with one telling the Post that "Gaza is the main obstacle to regional peace".
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The Gaza Strip remains the main obstacle to a regional peace deal, Saudi journalist and researcher Abdulaziz AlKhamis said to The Jerusalem Post following a conference in the Knesset on Wednesday. “If [the] Gaza war finishes and there is a peace deal and some stable solution, we will go to the next step with the Americans to do a peace deal for the region,” he said.
But this needs to be a “full solution” that involves the entire region, including Iran and Turkey.
“It is very hard, because some countries have their own interests … [Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei loves war and wants war to continue, but there is a change. The Iranians suffered from this war … there is a change in the Iranian mentality, and they have come to the table,” AlKhamis said.
The Americans also wanted to “stop Gaza” and bring people to Washington in order to negotiate a “full solution.”
“The Americans and Saudis have the same interest – a two-state solution. The problem is [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” AlKhamis said.
"Abraham Shield": What is this new Saudi proposal?
The Coalition, according to its website, represents a “wide and diverse group of public figures and opinion leaders in the security, diplomacy, business, hi-tech, and research fields who joined together to ensure the security of the State of Israel through the promotion of the ‘Abraham Shield Plan.’”The Abraham Shield Plan, according to the website, is a “new Israeli political-security initiative that paves the way for the State of Israel to emerge from wars of attrition to a reality of security, stability, and prosperity – based on the current regional opportunity.”
AlKhamis, a native of Saudi Arabia and based in the UAE, is a journalist and researcher and a host on SkyNews Arabia. He has been involved in discreet conversations on Gaza’s future and normalization with Israel. In his remarks during the conference, AlKhamis argued that normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia cannot come at the expense of “Palestinian dignity.”
According to AlKhamis, Gaza was not just a “humanitarian tragedy” but also a “strategic failure by all those who believe in a peaceful, flourishing region.” He explained that normalization between the two countries would not be just a dual agreement but would include a regional “realignment” including the Palestinians.
The “bare minimum,” according to AlKhamis, was the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state “built in partnership with regional stakeholders,” with a technocratic government in place for an interim period, and a “clear Israeli commitment not just to security but to coexistence.”
He added, “You now have an opportunity – perhaps the last one in a generation – to move beyond managing conflict to shaping a region … and let me be equally frank: should Israel ignore this moment – should it establish occupation, humiliate Gaza further, or treat regional normalization as a zero-sum equation – it will not only lose Saudi Arabia. It will lose the Arab world’s new consensus for integration.”
At the “edge of a new era,” the “choice is stark,” AlKhamis said. “Do we cling to the 20th century – with its borders soaked in blood and ideologies stuck in time? Or do we redraw the map – geopolitically, economically, morally?”
“Normalization is not surrender. It is a bold claim that the future belongs to builders, not bombers, that diplomacy is not weakness – but the highest form of strength. Let this be our region’s October 7 moment – not a day of descent into darkness, but the point at which we chose the light,” the Saudi journalist concluded.
Israel expands its relations with their neighbours
Participation by notable Saudi activists in the Knesset is rare. An even rarer occurrence is the appearance of Syrian nationals. One such participant was Shadi Martini, the Chief Executive Officer of the Multifaith Alliance (MFA) and a former General Manager of a hospital in Aleppo.MARTINI WAS involved in the Syrian war and played a key role in creating a cross-border partnership between Syrians and Israelis, which was later incorporated into the “Good Neighbors” project. Following the transition in Syria, Martini returned to Damascus, where he met with top Syrian officials to discuss ties with Israel.
In his speech at the conference, Martini said that many Syrians were “wondering” what Israel’s endgame was regarding Syria. Syrians were encouraged by Israel’s success against Hezbollah, which he said was the catalyst for the fall of the Assad regime. They viewed this as the fall of a “common enemy.”
However, subsequent Israeli actions, including operations in border areas in which Syrian farmers were killed, led to confusion as to what Israel’s ultimate goals were.
Martini said that he met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa several weeks ago. The president said that the current situation was an “opportunity of once every 100 years” and that the window of opportunity will “not always stay open.” Martini expressed hope that children in the region will “live in dignity and prosperity” and that the conference was a step in that direction.
The conference was backed by the Coalition for Regional Security, the Darkenu movement, and Commanders for Israel’s Security, and participants included current and former politicians, diplomats, and businesspeople. The Knesset Caucus that hosted the conference is chaired by Democrats MK Gilad Kariv, Yesh Atid MK Ram Ben-Barak, and Blue and White MK Alon Schuster.
Kariv said at the start of the meeting, “What must begin with a comprehensive deal to end the war and return all the hostages could and must continue with bold agreements that will transform the region. These agreements would establish a coalition of moderates against the axis of Iran and its proxies and bring hope to both peoples in this land and to all the nations descended from Abraham.”
“The movement toward such agreements – and the lessons of October 7 – require the understanding that we cannot strive for a different reality in the Gaza Strip or for separation from the Palestinians through an agreement without a broad, intensive, meaningful, promising, and prosperous regional framework of accords between Israel and the surrounding countries,” Kariv said.
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid argued that peace with Syria was possible, on one condition.
“I told the Emirates in Abu Dhabi – we will know how to build an entire regional coalition around [Syrian president] al-Julani that will assist in rehabilitating Syria if he drops the issue of the Golan Heights,” Lapid said.
According to IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Udi Dekel, a founding partner of the Coalition for Regional Security, Director of the Conflict to Agreements research program (INSS), and a former head of a negotiation team with the Palestinians, “Opportunities don’t just fall from the sky – they also vanish. If we don’t act correctly and swiftly, we’ll miss the opportunity. What are the advantages of the regional coalition we’re trying to advance? A bloc of moderate and responsible nations aiming to counter the radical axis of states.”
“The threat of a nuclear Iran and the proxies in the region has not ended,” Dekel said. “We urgently need this cooperation to stabilize the area. We can reach agreements with Lebanon and Syria. Arab states have placed a plan on the table in which they are prepared to take responsibility for the Gaza Strip – and the State of Israel has rejected this plan.”
Lianne Pollak-David, founding partner of the Coalition, former advisor at the Prime Minister’s Office and National Security Council, and a member of negotiating teams with Palestinians, added during the conference, “Since the horrific massacre of October 7, Israel has risen from the ruins and led tectonic changes. This must be said very clearly – the transformation is happening thanks to the military strength of the State of Israel.
“At the same time, it’s clearer than ever: military power alone is not enough. The next challenge is to realize our diplomatic strength as well … The regional agreement must be the compass for the entire pragmatic camp in Israel,” Pollak-David concluded.
A Darkenu poll conducted by Panel4All ahead of the caucus’s launch revealed that a large majority of the Israeli public was already looking toward the day after. The poll found that 70% of Israelis support a US-backed regional security arrangement and a two-state solution in the long term – including a surprising 63.6% of coalition voters.
Some 65.7% of the Israeli public said they believed that Israel had achieved the objectives of the war in Gaza and could end the fighting. Some 67.7% said they believed that Iran remained a significant threat to Israel, and 75% thought that Israel was dependent on the US in dealing with this threat.
Eliav Breuer
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-860506
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