By Ibrahim Rayhan

When US President Joe Biden was shooting “political arrows” at the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, had boarded his plane heading toward Tel Aviv, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi.

Biden was "bombing" his political outbursts to pave the way for his advisor to storm the Israeli war cabinet, in an attempt to impose a new scene in the context of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

Biden wants the Palestinian Authority, in cooperation with neighboring Arab countries, to take over the administration of the sector in the post-war period. At the same time, the Israelis, led by the right-wing government, insist on rejecting any presence of the Palestinian Authority there.

What was striking was that Biden this time assigned Sullivan, the “Jewish-American,” instead of his Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, who was keen to visit Israel in his religious-national Jewish capacity, according to what he said during his first visit to Tel Aviv after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7 last.

The choice of the National Security Advisor to visit Israel in conjunction with Biden’s fiery statements against Netanyahu and his government means that American national security interests have been greatly damaged due to the “mandatory” association of the American President, who does not stop reminding and bragging about his “Zionism” on an almost daily basis, with an extreme right-wing government that does not It concerns American interests, not even his political future, which will be scheduled for an election 10 months from today.

Sullivan was clear with the Israeli Prime Minister about the “post-war” phase, and linked this to American military assistance.

Riyadh is the beginning..

Before arriving in Tel Aviv, Sullivan was keen to visit the Saudi capital to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before heading to Tel Aviv.

Sullivan’s visit to Riyadh had three main points:

1- Working and coordinating with the Kingdom to prevent the expansion of the war in the region.

2- Discussing efforts and working to curb Houthi attacks targeting commercial ships, most of which are heading to Israel through the waters of the Red Sea.

3- Research into the “strategic agreement” that was being discussed between Riyadh and Washington before the outbreak of the war in Gaza. This agreement included:

- Expanding and developing the defense alliance between Riyadh and Washington and providing American security and military commitments to defend Saudi Arabia and its interests.

- American assistance in establishing a Saudi nuclear program.

- America mediates to normalize relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Washington was demanding a reduction in the level of economic, military, and political cooperation between the Kingdom, China, and Russia.

- Riyadh was demanding “major Israeli concessions to the Palestinians,” represented by practical steps on the ground, not just promises from Netanyahu, according to what the New York Times quoted an Israeli official earlier.

The US President confirmed, before Sullivan arrived in Riyadh, that his country wants to continue working to complete the “strategic agreement” with Saudi Arabia, and this requires returning to the “vision of the two-state solution.” He said that Netanyahu must understand that he must work to strengthen the Palestinian Authority: “You cannot say that there is no Palestinian state at all in the future.”

After the Biden envoy arrived in the Saudi capital, National Security Office spokesman John Kirby stated, “Before October 7, our team was working seriously on normalization between Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was, and we still believe, a starting point for getting closer to a two states solution.” He added: "Everyone is rightly focused on what is happening in Gaza, but that does not mean that we have given up on that."

According to an American source in the National Security Office, Sullivan heard from Mohammed bin Salman that the Kingdom is keen to complete the frameworks of the partnership with Washington, and that the visit of Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman to the American capital weeks ago was within the framework of confirming this.

The Saudi Crown Prince also stressed to the American envoy that the future of the agreement depends on Israeli concessions, and that after the war on Gaza, Riyadh has become more keen on the Palestinians gaining their rights in an independent state, and that the actions taken by the Netanyahu government do not go in this direction, but rather the opposite.

In turn, the American envoy assured the Saudi Crown Prince that his administration will confirm its commitment to the two-state solution in word and deed, and that the American President may take practical steps in coordination with “Washington’s partners in Tel Aviv” to prevent any occupation of the Gaza Strip, undermine the Palestinian Authority, and increase the flow of aid to the Strip.

According to an American source in the National Security Office, Sullivan heard from Mohammed bin Salman that the Kingdom is keen to complete the frameworks of the partnership with Washington.

In Tel Aviv: tension and the post-war period

After visiting Riyadh, Sullivan moved to the occupied territories. There he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Mossad head David Barnea, and met with the War Cabinet.

Sullivan was clear with the Israeli Prime Minister about the “post-war” phase, and linked that to American military assistance, and told him the following: “I am not here to stop the war, but rather to say that we support you in the mission of eliminating Hamas. But we have to start seriously researching this, and this will convince us of the necessity of continuing to support the military operation.”

He added: “You must focus your operations on pursuing Hamas leaders, and we believe that you must reduce the intensity of operations within a maximum of 6 weeks, otherwise the entire region will be exposed to a comprehensive explosion, and this is what we do not want to see.”

Sullivan said that Washington believes that the Palestinian Authority, after its restructuring in cooperation with forces from neighboring Arab countries, will take over the reins in the Gaza Strip.

Sullivan also reviewed, the results of the Central Intelligence Agency’s investigations, which showed that more than half of the bombs dropped by Israel on Gaza were “undirected,” and this is considered intentional targeting of civilians. He also reviewed American conclusions confirming that the Netanyahu government had received “serious” indications before October 7 of Hamas’ intention to attack the settlements around the Gaza Strip.

Sullivan's words did not make Netanyahu more flexible, as the latter replied to him, "The army will complete the operation against Hamas with or without American support, and we will decide who rules Gaza. We will not accept the presence of the Palestinian Authority. Either there will be Arab forces without the participation of the Palestinians, or we stay there."

What Netanyahu did not say explicitly, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said while Sullivan was in Israel on Kan Reshet Bet radio: “After the end of the war, Israel must completely occupy the Gaza Strip.”

He added, "Two states for two peoples is an illusion. I do not see that the current Palestinian apparatuses are capable of managing the Gaza Strip without the establishment of new terrorist cells there."

Sullivan repeated what he told Netanyahu in his meeting with the Israeli war council. Biden and Sullivan are betting on the prime minister-generals, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, and Gabi Ashkenazi, and opposition leader Yair Lapid, to overturn the political equation in Tel Aviv when the time comes.

This is confirmed by opinion polls in the Hebrew entity, the most recent of which was conducted by the Israeli Channel 13 and shows Gantz’s lead over Netanyahu.

A poll conducted by the Jewish People's Policy Institute last month found that 55% of participants have strong confidence in Benny Gantz, compared to only 32% in Netanyahu.

This American bet was expressed by Jonathan Freeland, a writer for the British newspaper The Guardian, in his article titled “There is only one way out of the Gaza war, and Netanyahu is obstructing it... Biden must force him to step down from power.”

The meeting with the Mossad: Cooperate with the Qataris

For two hours, Sullivan met with Mossad chief David Barnea. The meeting focused on the need for Tel Aviv to respond to the Egyptian-Qatari mediation to release the prisoners. It is likely that the results of these communications will appear before the middle of this week.

In Ramallah: You are the ones who will take over Gaza

From Tel Aviv, the American envoy moved to Ramallah, where he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

According to a statement issued by the White House, Sullivan discussed with President Abbas American efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian aid provided to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and stressed the importance of strengthening the protection of civilians.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Sullivan assured the Palestinian President that Washington is looking forward to forming a Palestinian-led force to assume responsibility in Gaza, with neighboring countries contributing to this force once Israel withdraws from the Strip.

The newspaper quoted American and Palestinian officials as saying that Sullivan asked Abu Mazen to provide security personnel who could form a nucleus to patrol Gaza.

The two sides also discussed a plan to retrain 1,000 former officers from the Authority's security forces in Gaza, and another 3,000 to 5,000 in the West Bank who will work in Gaza after the war.

The report indicated that the “flurry of security talks” reveals the extent of the urgent need felt by Washington and the Arab capitals to begin planning for the so-called “day after Hamas,” noting the lack of a unified position among the Arab countries regarding who will contribute forces at this stage, while everyone joins in demanding a ceasefire and the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state.

Source: Assas Media