JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he hopes to reach peace deals with more Arab countries once the war against Iranian proxies Hamas and Hezbollah is complete.
“The day after Hamas no longer controls Gaza and Hezbollah no longer sits on our northern border, we are working these days on plans to stabilize those two fronts. But the day after includes something else of utmost importance,” Netanyahu said in a speech to parliament.
“I aspire to continue the process I led a few years ago of the signing of the historic Abraham Accords, and achieve peace with more Arab countries,” he said.
Israel, under the U.S.-brokered 2020 accords, normalized relations with four Arab countries – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Since then, Israel, with U.S. support, has sought to also include other nations, particularly Saudi Arabia. Riyadh says it will not recognise Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.
“These countries, and other countries, see clearly the blows we are landing on those who attack us, the Iranian axis of evil,” he said. “They aspire, like us, for a stable, secure and prosperous Middle East.”
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Jon Boyle and Timothy Heritage)
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