Forging Israeli-Saudi Relations Amid Gaza Conflict

Formal Israeli-Saudi relations may require a period of calm in Gaza and discussions on Palestinian governance. This could be part of a trilateral deal involving Washington, according to U.S. envoy Jack Lew. Strategic benefits are seen as worth the risk, but decisions lie with Israel's government and people.

Forging formal Israeli-Saudi relations as part of an emerging trilateral deal involving Washington would require a calming of the Gaza war and a discussion of prospects for Palestinian govenance, the U.S. envoy to Jerusalem said on Tuesday.

"There's going to have to be some period of quiet, I think, in Gaza, and there's going to have to be a conversation about how do you deal with the question of the future of Palestinian governance," Ambassador Jack Lew said.

"My view is, that strategic benefit is worth taking the risk of getting into that conversation about. But that's a decision that the government of Israel will have to make and the people of Israel will have to make," he told a conference hosted by the Israel Democracy Institute think-tank. (Writing by Dan Williams)