Sources say that Saudi Arabia is willing to forgo Palestinian concessions in order to cement a larger defense pact with the United States in return for normalizing relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia has been reportedly trying to secure a NATO-style defense guarantee from the U.S. but would be willing to settle for status as a Major Non-NATO Ally, a status already given to Israel. Such an agreement would not necessarily have to be a formal treaty that would need ratification by Congress. However, the Saudis do want concrete assurances of U.S. intervention if attacked similarly to the September 2019 missile strikes on its oil fields which both countries blamed on Iran. While Saudi Arabia might ask the Israelis to ease some constraints on Palestinians, it would fall far short of the desired two-state solution, granting the Palestinians their own country. If an agreement can be reached, it could reshape the Middle East as we know it.
