U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal , left, and Lindsey Graham hold a press conference at the King David hotel in Jerusalem, Oct. 8, 2024. Photo courtesy of Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90.

By AMICHAI STEIN

JNS

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) paid a brief solidarity trip to Israel recently, but the main goal of his visit was to advance normalization of Israeli relations with Saudi Arabia.

The veteran senator is adamant. “From Nov. 6 [the day after the American election] until the moment U.S. President Joe Biden leaves the White House [on Jan. 20], is when a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia can be reached,” he told JNS on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

“I think we can get a defense treaty [for Riyadh] through the Senate,” Graham said. “Senator Blumenthal is a Democrat and I’m a Republican, he said.

(Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) accompanied Graham on their recent visit to Israel.)

“It has to be done on President Biden’s watch, before he leaves office. That’s the best way to get the 67 [two-thirds] votes in the Senate in order to pass the defense pact between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, Graham continued.But the Senate vote is not the only problem. Saudi strongman Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said publicly that any normalization deal must include some gesture to the Palestinians.

Q. Can Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition take steps in that direction?

“Bibi said yesterday he wants to normalize relations. The way you’ll find out what he can and what he can’t do is to have a dialogue. I hope that starts soon,” said the senator.

Graham left Israel on Tuesday for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where he will discuss his vision for the Palestinians.

“When Israel withdrew from Gaza [in the 2005 disengagement], nobody came, and Hamas took over. The Palestinian Authority is corrupt and ineffective. You must find a new way of doing business,” said the senator.

“I think MBS [Mohammed bin Salman] and NBZ [Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed] present a better hope to the Palestinians and present security to Israel,” Graham said.

“I think there’s a way for the Arabs to take over the Palestinian issue, to give sovereignty to the Palestinians that will not threaten Israel, to have buffer zones you didn’t have before, and mainly to have a new way of educating the Palestinian children. You’ve got to change their school system,” he said.

Graham believes that if Netanyahu and Prince Mohammed can sit down for a dialogue, “They can solve things.”

“He’s going to have to work with the Arabs to find a solution to the Palestinian problem. He’s a smart man, Netanyahu. He wants to normalize. Well, part of normalization is to find a way to solve the Palestinian issue.

“You’re not going to have normalization without dealing with the Palestinian problem. You’re not going to have peace in Israel until you deal with the Palestinian problem. You’re not going to have prosperity for Saudi Arabia until you deal with the Palestinian problem,” said the senator.

When Graham talks about the work that needs to be done to de-radicalize the Palestinians, he mentions Japan and Germany. “It took them decades,” he noted.

Q. But what about the White House? They still believe in the two-state solution, the one you claim is not relevant.

“Whatever MBS and Netanyahu can come up with, along with the UAE, has a good chance of being the answer,” Graham responded.

“MBS is not going to throw the Palestinians under the bus. He can’t. The Arab street won’t allow that. Bibi is not going to reward a terrorist attack with a state. I get that. Israel’s political leadership here is pretty realistic. The Palestinians are not going anywhere.

“The question is, will they, in the future, be a threat to Israel? A Palestinian state that we’ve talked about before is not the answer,” the senator said.

Graham’s visit came while Israeli and U.S. officials were discussing a response to Iran’s recent mass ballistic missile attack.

“There will be a response, and there should be. You can’t let a country fire 200 missiles at you and nothing happened,” Graham told JNS after meeting a series of Israeli officials including the prime minister.

Q: What target would you choose if it was up to you?

“I would hit their oil fields. I would hit their ability to wage war financially. I don’t want to go to war with Iran, but I want Iran to stop being the largest state-sponsor of terrorism. Without Iran, there’s no Hezbollah.

“Oil fields are the easiest targets of all, they have five refineries. They would have less fields and less capability to generate money.”

This suggestion is in contrast to Biden’s preference that Israel not attack Iran’s oil fields, or indeed its nuclear facilities.

Q: “When you told Israeli officials about your priority target, how did they respond?”

“They smiled.”

Amichai Stein is the diplomatic correspondent for Kan 11, IPBC.