WASHINGTON: Israel and Saudi Arabia are moving towards the outline of a historic US-brokered deal to normalize relations after decades of hostility, the White House said on Friday. President Joe Biden is hoping to transform the Middle East — and score an election-year diplomatic victory — by securing recognition of the Jewish state by Saudi Arabia, the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites. Saudi Arabia has been seeking security guarantees, including reportedly a treaty, with the United States in return for normalizing with Israel. Expectations that Israel might normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam’s two holiest shrines, have been ratcheted up this week. His statement has sparked a debate about which Muslim countries will establish relations with Israel.

Source: Libya Today September 30, 2023 15:27 UTC