White House adviser Jake Sullivan and Saudi crown prince MBS meet over Gaza crisis

Saudi Arabia had been in talks to normalize relations with Israel prior to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, a process that Biden officials have since said they are eager to eventually resume.

“Before Oct. 7 our team was working very hard on normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which was going to be — we still think there’s hope here — a stepping stone to get closer to a two-state solution,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during Wednesday’s briefing at the White House. “Everybody’s focused rightly on what’s going on in Gaza, but that doesn’t mean we’re giving up on that.”

Sullivan visited Saudi Arabia while en route to Israel, where he is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli War Cabinet on Thursday and Friday.

Sullivan’s visit with the Saudi crown prince was first reported by Axios.

Alexander Ward contributed to this report.