Saudi Arabia has made its position clear ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington: normalization with Israel will not move forward without a credible, time-bound plan for a Palestinian state. Despite renewed pressure from the United States to expand the 2020 Abraham Accords, Saudi Arabia is unwilling to repeat a framework that bypasses Palestinian independence.

According to Gulf officials, Saudi Arabia communicated to Washington that any future deal must be built on a new foundation – one that explicitly guarantees Palestinian statehood rather than treating it as an optional add-on. This clarification comes as bin Salman prepares for his first visit to the U.S. since the 2018 killing of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi, adding further scrutiny to an already sensitive diplomatic moment.

Saudi Arabia’s requests are specific: an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the deployment of an international protection force, and the restoration of the Palestinian Authority’s governing role. For Saudi Arabia, these steps are essential precursors to a lasting peace and a necessary safeguard against the recurring cycles of conflict that continue to claim civilian lives. With public anger across the region still high in the aftermath of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, any agreement ignoring these concerns would be politically unpopular at home.

Alongside these discussions, Washington and Saudi Arabia are negotiating a significant defense pact outlining the scope of U.S. security assurances for the kingdom. The agreement will be more limited than the formal treaty Riyadh once sought, but Saudi Arabia is pressing for mechanisms allowing future presidents to strengthen the pact. The negotiations reflect Saudi Arabia’s evolving global posture: a country modernizing quickly, strengthening ties with multiple world powers, and seeking security arrangements that match its growing geopolitical weight.

For the U.S., expanding the Abraham Accords remains a priority. President Donald Trump hopes to persuade the Crown Prince that his 20-point Gaza peace plan offers a path forward. But this approach faces constraints. Securing Israeli cooperation would require commitments to timelines and benchmarks that Israeli leaders have historically resisted. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is expected to request advanced U.S. weapons systems, including F-35 fighter jets, raising additional challenges for Washington as it balances regional security and its obligation to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge.

Despite shifting regional dynamics, including weakened Iranian proxies and a temporary halt in Gaza, significant obstacles remain. Without concrete progress toward Palestinian self-determination, normalization risks becoming another agreement that sidelines the underlying causes of instability. Saudi Arabia’s insistence on linking diplomatic relations to political rights marks a notable shift in regional diplomacy – one that places long-term conflict resolution over short-term strategic gains.

At its core, Saudi Arabia’s message is simple: durable peace cannot be built while the Palestinian question remains unresolved. A regional order that ignores the realities of occupation, displacement, and recurrent violence will struggle to deliver stability for anyone involved.

Saudi Arabia’s approach, if taken seriously, offers an opportunity to redirect regional diplomacy toward addressing the root causes of the conflict rather than managing its symptoms. Whether Washington and Israel are prepared to engage with this approach remains uncertain. But the alternative is familiar: temporary calm, followed by renewed crisis, in a region where the cost of unresolved grievances continues to fall most heavily on civilians.