WH NSC-'Positive Feedback' On Future Normalisaton Talks w/Saudi

White House National Security Council spox John Kirby has stated that he has 'recieved positive feedback' that Saudi Arabia and Israel are willing to continue to have normalisation discussions. The prospect of Israeli-Saudi normalisation occuring in the short term was seen as one of the key contributors behind the timing of Hamas' 7 October attacks that precipitated its current war with Israel affecting Gaza.

• Given the huge backlash to Israel's actions in Gaza from Muslim nations in the Middle East, the prospect of any normalisation deal being agreed to while Israeli forces are still engaged in military action in Gaza is slim-to-none.
• Once the conflict comes to an end both sides could look to move swiftly to reach a normalisation agreement, with US backing. Should such an agreement be reached it would be both a politically-seismic movement in the region and economically important given Saudi Arabia and Israel's positions as the largest and third-largest economies in the Middle East respectively. The speed that any deal is possible will inevitably also be dependent on how the conflict in Gaza comes to a resolution.