Hamas attack aimed to disrupt Saudi-Israel normalization: Biden

According to US President Joe Biden, Hamas’ attack on Israel in October aimed to disrupt a potential normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia had given its approval to UAE and Bahrain establishing relations with Israel but has not followed suit, stating that Palestinian statehood goals should be addressed first. Biden had plans to sit down with the Saudis, and the potential normalization of relations was a top priority for Secretary of State Antony Blinken. However, Biden believes it will take time for normalization to happen.