Saudi Normalization “Almost Impossible” With Netanyahu, Says Top Researcher

A senior Saudi researcher and commentator has declared that a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel is “almost impossible” under the current government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The researcher, Ali Shihabi, who is considered close to the kingdom’s leadership, stated that Netanyahu’s handling of regional relations has made a potential deal “too toxic” for Riyadh to pursue.
This blunt assessment comes just days before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is scheduled to visit Washington for a high-stakes meeting with President Donald Trump, where the U.S.-led normalization effort is a central topic.
While the Trump administration is pushing to add Saudi Arabia to the Abraham Accords, Saudi officials have consistently held that any deal is contingent on one non-negotiable condition: a “time-bound, irreversible pathway to a future Palestinian state.”
This demand is in direct conflict with the stated policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition, which vocally oppose a two-state solution.
According to Shihabi, this fundamental deadlock is the primary reason the talks are stalled. He stated that a deal is “virtually impossible” unless a “miraculous change” occurs in Israel’s position. Analysts at the Mitvim Institute echoed this, noting that Netanyahu’s policies have “led to Israel being seen as just another variable in a U.S.–Saudi deal, rather than as an independent actor.”
Riyadh views its potential normalization with Israel as its last and most powerful piece of leverage to secure a final resolution for the Palestinians. Saudi sources insist the kingdom will not “use that card” without first achieving its long-standing demand for a Palestinian state, a price the current Israeli government is unwilling to pay.