White House Plans to Strengthen Ties with Tel Aviv, Promote Saudi-Israeli Normalization
Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Summit on Monday and pledged Washington’s “ironclad” support for Tel Aviv. Part of the White House’s plan to strengthen Israel’s security would be to push Saudi Arabia into a normalization agreement with Israel.
Blinken claimed America’s commitment to Tel Aviv is unshakable. “Now, we have to start from this. The US-Israel relationship is underwritten by the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security. That commitment is non-negotiable; it is ironclad,” he said.
However, a growing number of Americans are opposed to giving billions in military aid to Israel. Several human rights groups have named Israel as an apartheid state due to Tel Aviv’s cruel treatment of the Palestinians.
Blinked asserted that Israel was a democracy several times during his AIPAC speech. “Israel was founded – our partnership was built – on democratic values, which include equal access by all people to their rights,” he said. Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been convicted on at least eight charges, including supporting a terrorist organization and inciting racism.
The diplomat touted the billions in military aid the US provides Israel. “We are – we are providing $3.3 billion in foreign military financing to Israel each year. On top of that, Israel receives $500 million in funding for missile defense.” He continued, “We’re also delivering an additional $1 billion in funding to replenish supplies for Israel’s Iron Dome.”
The Joe Biden administration is finding areas to expand its military support for Tel Aviv. “We’re also expanding our joint military exercises that improve how our forces work together seamlessly. This year, we have more joint exercises scheduled than at any point in our history,” Blinken told the attendees of the AIPAC summit.
The group is known for its vast influence in Washington. In The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt describe AIPAC as having a “stranglehold on the US Congress,” naming the group as “the most important and best known” organization in the Israel lobby.
Near the end of the Donald Trump presidency, Washington created several agreements between Israel and Arab states, known as the Abraham Accords. Binken said the Biden administration plans to create a new office to expand the agreements. “We will soon create a new position to further our diplomacy.” The diplomat stated, “in order to achieve significant historic progress to deepen and broaden the Abraham Accords, building on the work of the Trump administration.”
Some analysts explained that rather than create peace, the agreements started an arms race. “I have referred to the Abraham Accords as the ‘Arms Sales Accords’ because they could yield tens of billions [of dollars in] new arms sales to the region,” William Hartung, told Responsible Statecraft in 2020. “They will do more for weapons contractors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing and undemocratic regimes like the UAE than they will to promote peace in the region.”
The Secretary of State argued another step to make Israel more secure is to normalize ties between Tel Aviv and Riyadh. The United States has a real national security interest in promoting normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, he said, adding, “We believe that we can and indeed we must play an integral role in advancing it. Now, we have no illusions that this can be done quickly or easily.”
A potential roadblock to Blinken’s plan is China’s growing influence in the region. Recently, Beijing brokered a normalization pact between Tehran and Riyadh. Iran is often the target of joint US and Israeli war games, so the Saudi government may feel less pressure to improve ties with Tel Aviv as tensions with Tehran have been significantly deescalated.