The big significance for South Asia of the secret meeting between Netanyahu, MBS, & Pompeo in Saudi Arabia
By: Meera Kaul
Tags: Netanyahu, Pompeo, Palestine, Mohammed Bin Salman, Israel

Benjamin Netanyahu met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Neom, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.

Netanyahu was with Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and Netanyahu’s Military Secretary Avi Bluth. They used a private plane belonging to businessman Udi Angel, which the prime minister has used for past diplomatic trips.

Trying to drive normalization of relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia has been an unsuccessful effort for Trump administration. On one hand, they have driven the process to some success with UAE and Bahrain.

Anyone who has lived in the Gulf knows how people who had even visited Israel were treated at immigration at any UAE ports of entry .

To have direct flights between UAE airports and Tel Aviv is a new normal, much to the distraught of its population of Palestinian descent.

Saudi Arabia would have wanted “normalization” by having other Sunni countries do it first because its people are shouting betrayal.

Pakistan is being pressurized by Saudi about being that scapegoat for some months now and Imran Khan will need to now choose between aligning with China & Turkey versus aligning with Saudi.( especially after Pakistani Foreign Minister was made to wait for 6 hours on his last trip to the Kingdom as a punishment for speaking against the Kingdom)

It seems Trump just lost his patience and so did Netanyahu and thats the reason why Pompeo was sent on this mission.

Pompeo with MBS — Pic Courtesy New York Times

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was asked whether there is pressure on Pakistan to recognize Israel.

Imran Khan said in an interview with The Tribune in Pakistan, that there is pressure from another Islamic country “who are good friends”. It has been deduced by several people that Khan was most probably referring to Saudi Arabia here.

Imran Khan reiterated that Pakistan cannot recognize Israel because they are bound by what Jinnah stated earlier on for Pakistan- for Pakistan to accept Israel as a legitimate state there has to be a settlement to…their satisfaction. Imran Khan clearly avoided mentioning the two-state settlement when saying this.

He also surmised that if Saudi Arabia is moving towards the direction of Israel it might want to pull Pakistan along with it, something the Pakistani army “will be okay with”.

So either Pakistan will now finally give up Saudi Arabia and to that extent, even the Americans and latches its fate, on one hand with China strategically and on the other hand, on the Islamic side, with Turkey. This will be a huge policy impact for the region. And a big one for Pakistan.

Pompeo, in last bid efforts to help Netanyahu, reiterated that that the products imported by Israelis in Judea and Samaria to the US would be labeled “made in Israel,” and that the US would consider the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement to be anti-Semitic and all funding would be revoked from its affiliates.

Trump’s need to help Netanyahu seems to Trump all other foreign policy priorities as his administration prepares to leave office.

Netanyahu warned United States of their Iran strategy as Biden signals to Iran a reversal to Trump policies. Trump also has a plan to declare several human rights organizations anti-Semitic. That plan was leaked to the media last month and was shelved amid an uproar in the State Department.

Asked by journalists if his new policy applies to organizations like Amnesty International, which have called to boycott settlements, Pompeo responded: “I think the policy is pretty clear. We are going to continue to apply that policy against existing facts on the ground and when it’s applicable, we’ll apply it.”