GOP Rep. McCaul will travel to Saudi Arabia to push Israel deal

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, announced Friday that he planned to travel to Saudi Arabia in March to discuss the prospects of normalizing relations with Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

"I’ll be traveling to Saudi in March to discuss the security agreement that’s possible with the Saudis, and Israel and the United States," he said, according to The Hill. "I know that the Saudis are interested in getting this done as soon as possible, in fact I think there will be a draft document prior to my trip in March, which makes the timing very critical."

McCaul made the remarks during a discussion with the Christian Science Monitor. The Saudis have expressed demands for security support from the U.S. as a condition of normalizing relations with Jerusalem, and have also raised concerns about the fate of Gaza and the West Bank as the Israeli invasion of Gaza rages on.

"The only thing the Saudis want out of that is a way to allow the Palestinian people to self govern in that territory," McCaul said.

During an appearance on CNN in January, Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud indicated that the region could not achieve peace without "a credible irreversible process through a Palestinian state."

"We are fully ready, not just as Saudi Arabia but as Arab countries to engage in that conversation. I would hope that the Israelis would be as well. But it's up to them to make that decision," he also said. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, however, has indicated he sought to assert Israeli security control over all of Gaza and the West Bank, a position that appears in conflict with Saudi interests.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.