When the Iran-backed Hamas terror group invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, it not only sought to kill and kidnap Israelis. The group and its patrons in Tehran undoubtedly had other goals in mind, such as thwarting US-sponsored efforts to achieve normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Fortunately, Hamas has so far been unsuccessful in achieving this goal. In addition, Hamas has failed to drive a wedge between Israel and the Arab countries that have peace treaties with it: Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. None of these countries has cut off its diplomatic relations with Israel, despite their harsh criticism of Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip and pressure from the Arab street.
Less than a month before the Hamas assault, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, told Fox News that the prospect of normalized relations with Israel was "getting closer every day."
The war that erupted in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's atrocities on October 7 may have paused the normalization process, but it did not destroy it.
In the past few months, the Saudis have emphasized that they have not abandoned the idea of normalizing their relations with Israel, notwithstanding the war in the Gaza Strip that erupted after the Hamas attack.
One month after the assault, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Investment Khaled Al-Falih said talks towards a normalization of ties with Israel remain on the table:
"That was on the table – it remains on the table and obviously the setback over the last month has clarified why Saudi Arabia was so adamant that resolution of the Palestinian conflict has to be part of a broader normalization in the Middle East."
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Britain, Prince Khaled bin Bander, told the BBC earlier this year that the Kingdom still believed in establishing ties with Israel despite "deplorable casualty figures in Gaza."
Recently, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after meeting with bin Salman that there is "good progress" on Saudi Arabia-Israel normalization talks.
"I believe we can reach an agreement which would present an historic opportunity... We had a very good discussion about the work that we've been doing for many months now on normalization, and that work is moving forward. We're continuing to make good progress."
Consequently, there is good reason to believe that the Saudis will eventually agree to normalize their relations with Israel. In order for that to happen, however, Hamas, which is strongly opposed to any peace with Israel and does not recognize its right to exist, must be defeated and eradicated.
It is no secret that Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries despise Hamas and consider it a threat to their own national security as well as an obstacle to achieving peace between the Arabs and Israel.
In 2019, the Saudi authorities arrested 60 Hamas members and sympathizers, including the terror group's representative in the Kingdom, Mohammed Al-Khudari, who was later sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of supporting Hamas.
The Saudis would no doubt be delighted to see Hamas removed from power and eliminated. This, however, cannot happen unless Israel is permitted to destroy Hamas's entire military capabilities. Since the beginning of the war, Hamas is reported to have lost thousands of its fighters. Israel has dismantled 20 of the 24 Hamas battalions. Yet, the group still has four battalions in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
The total defeat of Hamas will undoubtedly incentivize the Saudis and other Arabs to make peace with Israel. As long as Hamas remains around and is allowed to have a say on issues related to the Israeli-Arab conflict, many Arabs will be reluctant to normalize their ties with Israel. There is no doubt that the Saudis, together with the UAE, Bahrain and the even the Palestinian Authority, are quietly praying for Israel to finish the job and get rid of Hamas. These Arabs, understandably, cannot express their views in public lest they be accused of "colluding" with Israel.
This is why the Biden administration is making a disastrous mistake by pressuring Israel not to go after Hamas in Rafah. The Biden administration's approach is like asking a marathon runner to stop just before he reaches the finish line. If Hamas is allowed to keep its forces in Rafah, this will be seen by the group and its supporters as a victory.
The thousands of Hamas fighters in Rafah will quickly return to other parts of the Gaza Strip when the Israeli army pulls out from the coastal enclave. Then, it will only be a matter of time before Hamas carries out another massacre against Israelis.
Failure to destroy Hamas's military capabilities and allowing it to remain in power – as the Biden administration is suggesting – will be bad not only for Israel, but for the Saudis and other Arab states eager to make peace with Israel.
By pressuring Israel not to invade Rafah, the US administration is sabotaging its own efforts to persuade Saudi Arabia to normalize its ties with Israel. Additionally, the Biden administration would do well to consider the following: Arab states are motivated to sign peace treaties with Israel when they see Israel as a winner. Like it or not, Israelis are indisputably a superpower in the domains of economics, medicine, technology, and the military arena in the Middle East.
By demanding that Israel refrain from entering Rafah, the Biden administration is actually asking Israel to forget about recovering the 130 hostages being raped and tortured by Hamas every day -- which still include six Americans – and to lose the war. This is something that neither Israel nor Hamas's Arab enemies -- nor even Biden -- can afford to accept.
Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. The work of Bassam Tawil is made possible through the generous donation of a donor who wished to remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.
Clive Delmonte