US 'urges Lapid to join Netanyahu government' amid worry over Saudi demands for uranium enrichment

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has reportedly turned down a US proposition that he join the current Netanyahu-led government in exchange for an Israel-Saudi Arabia normalisation agreement, Israeli media has reported.

The proposal, reported on by Israeli television station Channel 12 on Friday, was made by US officials during Lapid's visit to Washington, where he said earlier this week that he and his Yesh Atid party would oppose any Saudi-Israeli normalisation agreement that would allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium for a civilian nuclear program.

Lapid, a former prime minister, reportedly outright refused the US offer, reiterating that he would oppose any deal that would allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium on its own territory.

The US is considering allowing Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium on its territory – provided that the enrichment process remains under US control and oversight – if it means Riyadh will sign a US-brokered normalisation agreement with Tel Aviv, according to reports.

The Biden administration is considering the concessions as it is keen to replicate some of the steps towards normalisation made by the Trump administration before it, whose Abraham Accords saw four Arab states agree to normalise ties with Israel.

A deal to normalise ties with Saudi Arabia has been met with resistance from some in the Israeli far-right government, who say Israel will grant too many concessions to the Palestinians as part of the process. The US hopes a government that includes former prime minister Lapid and his centrist party might be more amenable to a normalisation deal.

According to the Channel 12 report, Lapid told US officials that without his party's support, it would be challenging for Netanyahu to lead a government that would approve the Saudi-Israeli normalisation deal.

Though ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia have significantly improved, Saudi officials have publicly dismissed any move towards full-fledged normalisation, saying that only the creation of a viable Palestinian state could pave the way for such a deal.

Palestinian officials have previously said that they have received reassurances from Saudi officials that Israel's full recognition of a viable Palestinian state is needed before they sign any US-brokered agreement to normalise ties.