MIDEAST: Israel Pres. Talks Up Saudi Deal, But 2-State Solution Major Obstacle

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has sought to talk up the prospect of a normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia following US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the weekend. According to CBS News, the US and Saudi are "days away" from concluding a deal, with the Saudi Foreign Ministry calling the draft "nearly final". 

• Israel's Ynet reports Herzog stating that "We are presented with the possibility of normalization with Saudi Arabia, and I hope that it will be considered seriously [...] two days ago I met with the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan. The normalization is a move that can bring about a huge change. It is a historical 'game changer', which constitutes a victory over the evil empire of Iran."
• US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew claimed that in order for the deal to progress, "There's going to have to be some period of quiet, I think, in Gaza, and there's going to have to be a conversation about how do you deal with the question of the future of Palestinian governance,"
• However, with the Netanyahu gov't in place the deal would appear moot, with the Times of Israel reporting the PM saying that Palestinian statehood is a non-starter, and a Saudi normalisation deal would not be worth that price.