WASHINGTON, May 26 (Alliance News): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested that additional Arab countries may normalize relations with Israel before the end of 2025, despite ongoing regional tensions.
Speaking before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rubio hinted that the Abraham Accords—initially brokered during the Trump administration—could expand further this year. “I think more countries could join the Abraham Accords before the end of this year,” he said.
The Abraham Accords led to formal diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco in 2020. Saudi Arabia was also reportedly close to reaching a similar agreement in 2023 with US mediation, but the process was derailed by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing Israeli military response in Gaza.
Rubio acknowledged that while both Saudi Arabia and Israel remain interested in normalizing relations, the ongoing war in Gaza and the absence of a two-state solution are significant barriers.
Saudi officials have maintained that the kingdom will not move forward with normalization until hostilities in Gaza cease and substantial progress is made toward establishing a sovereign Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, remains firmly opposed to the two-state solution, complicating prospects for a broader regional agreement.
Netanyahu leads a hardline right-wing coalition that has consistently rejected Palestinian statehood proposals.
