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US Senator: Saudi wants US protection before recognising Israel

October 11, 2024 at 1:38 pm

Member of a bipartisan group of US Senators Lindsey Graham looks on as they hold a press conference in Tel Aviv on October 22, 2023 [GIL COHEN MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images]

Prominent US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Saudi Arabia wants a guarantee of full American protection in return for recognising Israel.

Graham told Channel 4 News’ Matt Frei that Saudi Arabia wants a defence agreement with the US similar to the ones with Japan and Australia.

“In other words, the United States will go to war for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” he added.

Graham stressed that it will not be easy to conclude such an agreement because it requires 67 votes in the Senate, adding that he told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman a year and a half ago that it would be “a heavy lift, but I will try.”

Responding to Israel’s unwillingness to recognise an independent Palestinian state, which would hinder Saudi recognition of Israel, Graham said there would be “an independent, sovereign state called Palestine with security guarantees for Israel to make sure there is no future October 7. It will be more like an emirate than it will be a democracy.”

Saudi’s crown prince and the president of the UAE would then rebuild Gaza, “they will reform the PA [Palestinian Authority], they will create an enclave in the Palestine that can live in peace and harmony with Israel.”

“If you don’t have a plan for the day after, Hamas will come back … Hezbollah will regenerate and you will have 50 years of Israel half in and half out. There will be no normalisation. Nobody’s going to come to this region to do business because it’s going to be on fire,” he added.

Journalist tells US: ‘People are sick of your b******t’