Arab countries are developing an Israel-Gaza peace proposal that includes Arab recognition of Israel and Western recognition of Palestine, the Financial Times (FT) reported

Per Gazan health officials, since October 7, 24,000+ Palestinians – which includes both Hamas and civilians – have died

Israel has vowed to continue its war, for months if necessary, to eradicate Hamas from Gaza

Prior to October 7, Saudi Arabia – widely considered a leader of the Arab world – was in talks to sign a normalization deal with Israel

That would have exchanged Saudi recognition of Israel for certain concessions, including progress toward a Palestinian state

Those talks stalled, though, amid Israel’s war in Gaza and Saudi Arabia’s denunciation of that

Last week, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UK told the BBC that “absolutely there is interest” among his country’s leaders to normalize relations with Israel, although he cautioned such a deal would require “nothing less than an independent state of Palestine”

This week, its foreign minister said Saudi recognition of Israel is “certainly” still on the table

Per the FT, Arab officials are now formulating a comprehensive peace deal for the Israel-Gaza conflict, to be publicly unveiled in the coming weeks

Per officials who spoke with the FT, the deal would include a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and “irreversible” steps toward a Palestinian state

In addition, the deal would call on Western states to formally recognize Palestine and/or grant it a seat in the UN in exchange for Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, formally recognizing Israel

A senior official told the FT, “the real issue is you need hope for Palestinians, it can’t just be economic benefits or removal of symbols of occupation”

Another said concrete promises have to be given to Palestine “for [the deal] to be politically viable at any point in the future”

Saudi Arabia and the US reportedly discussed measures to advance the “two-state solution,” a vision for peace in which Israel and Palestine exist side-by-side as independent countries

Israel hasn’t commented on the alleged deal, and it’s unclear if its ruling parties would support it

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