Overview
- The White House meeting set for November 18 is expected to be used by U.S. officials to lay groundwork for renewed dialogue between Riyadh and Jerusalem, according to a senior Saudi royal cited by Kan News.
- Riyadh has told Washington that formal ties with Israel are not on the agenda and will only be considered with an agreed roadmap to a two-state solution, Reuters reported via Gulf diplomatic sources.
- Negotiators now expect the visit to spotlight a scaled-back U.S.–Saudi defense arrangement executed through executive authority rather than a Senate-ratified treaty.
- The prospective deal would expand joint military cooperation, accelerate advanced U.S. arms sales, include technology-sharing, and add safeguards to curb Saudi defense and technology ties with China.
- Saudi demands tied to Palestinian sovereignty include an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, an international protection force, and the return of the Palestinian Authority, while analysts say the crown prince will press President Trump for more explicit U.S. backing of a Palestinian state.