Trump believes Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump on Monday said he believes Israeli-Saudi normalization can be reached.

"I think Saudi Arabia will end up being in the Abraham accords. ... Soon. Not a very long way, " Trump told reporters at the Oval Office while signing several executive orders on his inauguration day.

Abraham Accords are US-brokered agreements signed during Trump's first term in 2020 that normalized Israel's relations with several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates.

Trump was sworn in for a second term on Monday, heralding a major shift in the US government that is widely expected to send shockwaves through American society and the world.

Saudi Arabia is said to have postponed US-backed plans for the kingdom to normalize ties with Israel, after the eruption of the Gaza war in October 2023. It says it would not recognize Israel without a Palestinian state.