The gathering of foreign ministers from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Egypt, and the United States was originally scheduled for March, but has been repeatedly postponed due to growing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as unease among Arab participants over the intransigent new government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,ย the same sourceย reports.
Over the past week, Rabat had agreed to finally hold the meeting next month. A date had not yet been set, but it was scheduled to take place in mid-July, the US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
But two Israeli settlement initiatives have once again derailed the process, the US official said.
The first was an announcement by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that the Defense Ministry body responsible for authorizing settlement construction would meet next week to advance construction plans for more than 4,500 new homes. in the colonies.
The decision approved at Sunday morning’s cabinet meeting, which takes effect immediately, also significantly speeds up and facilitates the process of expanding existing settlements in the West Bank and retroactively legalizes some illegal outposts.
Israeli efforts to further strengthen its presence in the West Bank are also seen as an obstacle to further normalization deals in the Middle East, including with Saudi Arabia.
The US official said the settlement initiatives may not have a direct impact on the Biden administration’s efforts to facilitate a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, “but does all of this not taint the atmosphere?ย Absolutely.“