Hamas attacked in order to derail Saudi-Israel normalisation: Joe Biden

US President Joe Biden on Friday (October 20) said that it was possible that Hamas initiated the ongoing conflict with Israel as it wanted to disrupt warming up of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

"One of the reasons why they acted like they did... why Hamas moved on Israel... (was) because they knew I was about to sit down with the Saudis," Biden told guests at a campaign fundraiser.

"The Saudis wanted to recognize Israel... unite the Middle East," he said.

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The positive momentum towards normalisation of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, guardian of Islam's two holiest sites, was destroyed as Hamas terroristsattacked Israel on October 7.

Hamas fighters stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip. They took more than 200 hostages and killed at least 1400 people, as per data with Israeli officials.

In the conflict this attack sparked, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas. It has said that about 1500 of the group's fighters have been killed.

Watch | Israel-Palestine war | Trucks, filled with humanitarian aid, enter Gaza through Rafah crossing

Israel retaliated with bombing campaign which has levelled entire city blocks in Gaza. So far, 4137 Palestinians have been killed. These are mostly civilians, says Hamas-run health ministry.

Saudi Arabia on October 14 announced that it had suspended talks with Israel on normalisation of relations. The announcement came during a visit to Riyadh by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had spoken of progress with Israel but also insisted on movement on the Palestinian cause.

Also Read | Gaza hospital strike: French intelligence points to Palestinian rocket for blast

Saudi Arabia has never recognised Israel. It did not join the 2020 Abraham Accords brokered by the US. The accords resulted in Bahrain, the UAE and Morocco establishing diplomatic ties with Israel.

The US government under President Joe Biden has pressed Saudi Arabia to join the accords. Riyadh has, in exchange demanded security guarantees from Washington and help in developing a civil nuclear programme.

Also Read | Trucks, filled with humanitarian aid, enter Gaza through Rafah crossing

Saudi Crown Prince and de-facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman told Fox News last month that he was "getting closer every day" to a normalisation agreement with Israel. He also emphasised importance of Palestinian question.

Hamas, the Palestinian movement in power in the Gaza Strip, opposes normalization agreements with Israel.

(With inputs from agencies)

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