One of the big questions about Hamas’s large-scale attack on Israel, aside from the failure of Israeli intelligence, concerns the moment the terrorist organization chose to launch the operation, Insider writes.

Several US officials told NBC News that Saturday’s attack was likely aimed at derailing high-level talks in Washington aimed at normalizing Israel’s relations with Saudi Arabia.

The regime in Riyadh has never recognized the legitimacy of the Israeli state, and hostilities between the two countries date back to the Arab-Israeli war of 1948-1949.

But Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is keen to reap the economic benefits of a possible normalization of relations with Israel, hoping other Arab countries will follow suit.

Israel in August 2020 reached a historic agreement to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, an agreement brokered by the former Republican administration of President Donald Trump. Moreover, the UAE’s foreign ministry said on Sunday it was “horrified” by reports that Israeli civilians had been taken hostage from their homes by Hamas militants, a situation it described as a serious escalation.

“Civilians on both sides should always be fully protected under international humanitarian law and should never be the target of conflict,” the Abu Dhabi ministry added.

Saudi Arabia would like to normalize relations with Israel

As for relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Riyadh ruled out their normalization immediately after the announcement in 2020 of the restoration of relations between the governments of Israel and the Emirates.

“There must be peace between Israel and the Palestinians based on internationally recognized agreements in favor of the creation of a Palestinian state,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Ben Farhan said at the time.

But a few months later, in April 2021, Ben Farhan himself said that the normalization agreement with Israel would be “extremely beneficial” for the Middle East, but again reminded of the need for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

The hypothesis that Hamas launched the attack on Israel now to undermine talks between Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and Saudi Arabia was also suggested on Monday by AFP, which recalled that talks between the two countries were due to take place in the coming weeks. the parties, which are among the oldest US allies in the Middle East and share concerns about the development of Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran denies any involvement in the Hamas attack

Two days ago, the Financial Times reported that US officials were trying to determine whether Iran, a supporter and financier of Hamas, was involved in planning the attacks, with conflicting reports over the weekend.

For example, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, based on statements obtained from senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah, that Iranian security officials helped plan Saturday’s surprise attack and approved the attack during a recent meeting in Beirut.

But US officials said they saw no evidence of Tehran’s involvement at this time. In an interview with CNN that aired Sunday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said: “We have yet to see evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack, but there is certainly a long-standing connection.”

Several senior Iranian officials have denied any involvement by Tehran in planning the attack.

Tensions within Israel would embolden the country’s enemies

The Financial Times notes that any progress in talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia looks unlikely now that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has declared war on Hamas and is unwilling to make concessions on the plight of the Palestinians.

Hamas officially said that the attack was carried out in response to the entry of Israeli settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest site. But a Hamas official told Reuters that the operation had been years in the making, undermining the official version put forward by the terrorist organization.

Another possible reason for the attack is related to the unrest in Israel caused by the Netanyahu government, whose attempts to change laws governing the judicial system have led to unprecedented protests and tensions in the Israeli state.

“There is a sense among Israel’s opponents that it has never been more divided, never weaker, never more torn,” Gen. James Stavridis, the former commander of NATO forces in Europe, told NBC News.

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