US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that President Joe Biden is of the opinion that Hamas cannot remain in power in Gaza following the war and has been explicitly clear about this despite claims to the contrary.
"In the president's remarks on May 31, he explicitly said that the path forward is a Gaza where Hamas is no longer in power. That was in the speech that he gave. It was clear, it was direct about that," Sullivan told the American Jewish Committee 2024 Global Forum, as quoted by Haaretz.
Commenting on Biden’s proposal for a hostage release deal and a ceasefire, Sullivan suggested it could eventually lead to a normalization of Israel’s ties with Saudi Arabia
"If we get into this deal, and we work through all of the elements of the deal, all of those hostages will come home — including those who have tragically passed away, where their bodies will come home so that their families can have a measure of solace and closure. We should not pass over that critical element of this, something the president has been working for since they were first taken back on October 7," he said.
"A larger strategic opportunity opens for Israel that could be a complete game changer in the years ahead. First, if we get to a cease-fire in Gaza, we can get to calm in Lebanon, and we can work out a diplomatic arrangement where tens of thousands of Israeli citizens can return to their homes and know that they will not be under threat there," added Sullivan.
"We can have a day after in Gaza, where the Arab states play a significant role in both stabilizing and reconstructing Gaza, so that it is not that platform for terror that it has been in the past, and we can begin down a pathway of Israel's full integration into the region, including normalization with additional countries, including Saudi Arabia, where the end result is embedded in security architecture that makes it more secure," he stated.
Shortly after the start of the war in Gaza, sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia is putting the US-backed plans to normalize ties with Israel on ice.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister later indicated that normalization with Israel requires both an end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip as well as the establishment of a Palestinian state, which Saudi officials have long insisted is a condition for normalization with Israel.
Recent reports said that the Biden administration and Saudi Arabia are finalizing an agreement for US security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance.
Sullivan, however, made clear that the Biden administration would not sign a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia if the kingdom and Israel did not agree to normalize relations.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shavuot in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)