Israel Tells Saudis: No Normalization Until Hamas Is Defeated

By The Blogging Hounds Israel has sent a clear and uncompromising message to Saudi Arabia: no normalization, no Abraham Accords expansion, no deal of any kind—until Hamas is decisively defeated. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, speaking directly with the office of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, told Riyadh that Israel will not compromise with…

By The Blogging Hounds

Israel has sent a clear and uncompromising message to Saudi Arabia: no normalization, no Abraham Accords expansion, no deal of any kind—until Hamas is decisively defeated. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, speaking directly with the office of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, told Riyadh that Israel will not compromise with the Palestinian Authority and is not ready for any political process leading toward statehood. The result? Saudi Arabia has frozen normalization and is now pushing, alongside France, for international recognition of a Palestinian state.

From Near Normalization to a Deep Freeze
Before Hamas’s October 7 attack, Saudi Arabia was on the brink of joining the Abraham Accords in what would have been a historic breakthrough. But Israel’s refusal to consider the Palestinian Authority in any “day after Gaza” scenario has shifted the sands dramatically. According to Arab diplomats, Riyadh sees this as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s capitulation to extremists in his governing coalition. Retired Saudi General Abdullah al-Qahtani bluntly stated: “Peace with Israel is off the table because Netanyahu and his government do not want peace.”

Hamas and Iran’s Strategic Victory
For Hamas and its backers in Tehran, the Saudi reversal is a political win. The very purpose of the October 7 massacre—besides the bloodshed itself—was to derail the Abraham Accords and prevent Saudi-Israeli normalization. Nearly a year later, the terror group appears to have achieved that goal. With Riyadh now joining Paris in spearheading international recognition of a Palestinian state, Hamas and Iran have successfully shifted the diplomatic center of gravity against Jerusalem.

The Day After Gaza: Who Rules?
Dermer has stressed to U.S. and Arab counterparts that Hamas must be dismantled completely before any talk of reconstruction or governance in Gaza. He dismissed Saudi proposals involving the Palestinian Authority, saying Jerusalem rejects any role for Ramallah in Gaza’s future. Instead, Israel is quietly cooperating with the U.S., Egypt, the UAE, and even Saudi Arabia on a framework for “de-radicalization zones.” Under one plan already underway in southern Gaza, Saudi Arabia will oversee new school curricula while the UAE will promote content on tolerance and coexistence. The long-term goal is a demilitarized, pacified Gaza, potentially rebuilt into a tourist hub under international oversight.

Trump’s Regional Mega-Deal Looms
American and Arab diplomats hint that Israel’s posture may soften under pressure from the Trump administration, which is preparing a major regional initiative that includes Gaza’s reconstruction and a broader normalization push. President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Riyadh is expected to feature high-level discussions on this “mega-deal.” Yet the question remains: will Netanyahu’s coalition allow any concessions, or will ideological rigidity cost Israel a once-in-a-generation opportunity?

Prophetic Fault Lines
The prophetic dimension is unavoidable. Scripture warns that the nations will pressure Israel into dividing the land (Joel 3:2), even as Israel’s leaders cling to their own strength. Saudi Arabia’s demand that normalization hinge on Palestinian statehood mirrors the growing global consensus: Israel must surrender land for peace. But the Bible makes clear that such deals invite judgment. What we are witnessing is not merely geopolitics—it is prophecy in motion.

Conclusion: A Stalemate With Global Consequences
Israel’s insistence on Hamas’s total defeat before any normalization, and Saudi Arabia’s insistence on Palestinian statehood as a precondition for peace, has locked the two nations in a diplomatic standoff. For Hamas and Iran, this stalemate is a victory. For globalists in Washington, Paris, and the UN, it is the pretext for imposing a “solution” from above. For Bible prophecy watchers, it is another signpost on the road toward the dividing of Jerusalem and the eventual rise of the false peace that precedes the Tribulation.

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