Blinken unsure Israel will make compromises for Saudi normalisation deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he was unsure whether Israel was ready to make compromises to reach a deal to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia, notably on a pathway to an independent state of Palestine.

His frank assessment came after Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden's national security advisor, visited both countries and briefed hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the "potential" of the possible deal.

But Blinken, who has repeatedly shuttled between the two countries since the October 7, acknowledged doubts about whether Netanyahu and his hard-right government would meet Saudi demands if the normalisation issue became more than "hypothetical."

"I can't tell you whether Israel — whether it's the prime minister or the country as a whole — is prepared to do in this moment what would be necessary to actually realise normalisation," Blinken told a Senate committee on Tuesday.

"Because that requires an end to (the war in) Gaza and that requires a credible pathway to a Palestinian state," he said.

'Agreement within reach'

Both Netanyahu and then US president Donald Trump hailed Israel's 2020 normalisation with three Arab states — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco — as a signature achievement.

US and Israeli leaders see Saudi Arabia as a much bigger prize as the country is the home to Islam's two holiest sites.

But Saudi Arabia, in return for a deal, wants progress on a Palestinian state — an idea resisted by years by Netanyahu and his extremist ministers.

Riyadh also wants alliance-style security guarantees from the United States, which has long sought but struggled to reduce its Middle East footprint, as well as possible civilian nuclear cooperation.

On the US-Saudi negotiations, Blinken said, "I think we're at a point now where those agreements are very much within reach — very close reach."

Biden's push with Saudi Arabia comes despite criticism of Riyadh from parts of his Democratic Party.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham — a close ally of Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House in November elections — acknowledged that Congress may be more likely to approve a US-Saudi deal with Biden as president.

"I think this needs to be done on your watch," Graham told Blinken.

"As a Republican, I think most of my colleagues would embrace a security agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia if it would lead to normalisation and a brighter future for Israel and the Palestinians," he said.

Graham urged Israel "not to let this moment pass."

Separately, US says it is close to a final agreement on a bilateral defence pact with Riyadh.

US and Saudi negotiators are seeking to complete work on a bilateral accord expected to call for formal US guarantees to defend the country as well as Saudi access to more advanced US weaponry, in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and restricting Beijing's investment in the country.

But any deal must satisfy a longstanding agreement with Israel that US weapons sold in the region must not impair Israel's "qualitative military edge," guaranteeing US weapons furnished to Israel are "superior in capability" to those sold to its neighbours.