The Wall Street Journal reports:

Saudi Arabia is engaging in serious talks with Israel to build business ties and create new security arrangements as the conservative Islamic kingdom senses a shift among its public in favor of establishing official ties with the majority Jewish state.

Although Saudi Arabia doesn’t recognize Israel and has no diplomatic relations with its neighbor, the kingdom is expanding its secretive talks with Israeli leaders that could reshape Middle East politics and end decades of enmity between two of the region’s most influential nations.

With the Biden administration’s help, Saudi Arabia and Israel are trying to broker an agreement that could give commercial planes expanded rights to fly from Israel over the kingdom and pave the way for Saudi Arabia to take full control of two strategic Red Sea islands, according to people familiar with the efforts.

At the same time, Riyadh has allowed a series of Israeli businessmen to travel to Saudi Arabia as the two nations look to deepen their economic ties, according to people familiar with the visits.

The Saudi government is making the moves as it sees support growing among its public for ties with Israel. On a recent visit to Washington, Saudi Prince Khalid bin Salman, the son of Saudi King Salman and brother of the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, privately told people that recent polling showed a decisive shift, especially among Saudis under 30 years old, in favor of diplomatic relations with Israel, according to people briefed on the talks.

While official diplomatic relations may still be years away, the series of secret political, military and economic steps could accelerate long-building efforts to end the conflict between two countries that see a shared threat in Iran, according to people involved in the efforts.

The Saudi-Israel talks are a key element in efforts to repair strained ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, as the Biden administration begins to embrace former President Donald Trump’s push to build ties between Israel and the Arab world without waiting for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. [Continue reading…]

Likewise, as David Ignatius pointed out last week, the Biden administration is now ready to let the crown prince (MBS) get away with murder:

[I]n terms of any meaningful accountability from MBS on Khashoggi’s death or other important human rights issues, Biden is likely to come away [from his planned visit Riyadh in late June] empty-handed. The United States has sanctioned various junior officials, and the Saudi leader himself has offered only bland statements, denying personal responsibility for the operation that led to [Jamal] Khashoggi’s death. He evidently concluded that any greater concessions would be seen at home as a sign of weakness — and are unnecessary.

Realpolitik has its place in foreign policy, but this lack of accountability is a lasting tragedy. In simple terms, MBS got away with it.