The Lie:
Israel doesn’t want peace with Saudi Arabia and refuses to take necessary steps toward normalization. 

The Truth:
Israel wants normalization with Saudi Arabia. The barrier to peace is the Saudi demand that Israel first create a Palestinian state as a precondition.

Background:

• The Abraham Accords (2020) proved Arab–Israeli peace can advance based on shared strategic interests, independent of resolving the Palestinian issue.
• 
  Saudi Arabia would be the most transformative addition to the Abraham Accords, transforming the Middle East.
  

Truth Explained:

• MBS publicly tied normalization to creating a Palestinian state.
  During his November 18, 2025 White House visit, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) said Saudi Arabia wants normalization with Israel—but only on the condition that there is “a clear path to a two-state solution.” https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/mbs-says-saudi-arabia-wants-to-join-abraham-accords-needs-clear-path-to-two-states/
  
• Israel is not blocking normalization — the Palestinian precondition is. Israeli officials have signaled support for advancing ties with Saudi Arabia based on mutual interests, not Palestinian demands.
  https://www.axios.com/2025/11/15/israel-trump-jet-sale-saudi-arabia
  
• The Abraham Accords succeeded because they removed the Palestinian veto.
  As Dr. David Wurmser explains, the Accords worked precisely because they “decoupled” peace from Palestinian obstruction — enabling UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan to normalize without preconditions. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/402783

• Conditioning Saudi normalization on Palestinian statehood threatens to derail Saudi–Israel progress.
  Wurmser warns that tying peace to the Palestinian issue “will not succeed and can even undermine the strategic cooperation that exists with Saudi Arabia.”
  https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/402783
  
• Making normalization depend on the Palestinian issue opens the door for hostile actors to sabotage progress. Dr. David Wurmser warns that Qatar, Turkey, and Muslim Brotherhood elements — all aligned with Hamas — would use a Palestinian-state precondition to manipulate the process. Qatar, he notes, will try to “rope the Saudis into their agenda… which is the Muslim Brotherhood, which is Hamas being saved,” turning the Palestinian file into a tool for regional spoilers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/402783
  
• Quiet strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia already exists, and forcing Palestinian issues into the talks risks damaging it. According to Wurmser, meaningful under-the-table cooperation predates any formal agreement and is far more effective than a deal held hostage to Palestinian demands.
  https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/402783

Quotes

• “If Saudi Arabia wants peace with Israel, it should go ahead and make peace with Israel. Conditioning it on a third party only encourages the Palestinians to be inflexible and maximalist.” — Eylon Levy
  
• “Tying it to the Palestinian issue will not succeed and can even undermine the strategic cooperation that exists with Saudi Arabia.” — Dr. David Wurmser
  
• “We want to be part of the Abraham Accords, but we want a clear path to a two-state solution.” — Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Times of Israel)

Takeaway:

• The Abraham Accords work. Conditioning peace on a Palestinian state does not. Israel isn’t blocking normalization — the Palestinian-state precondition is the only thing standing in the way.