Though the envoy did not say as much, it is well known that Arab nations, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, have been playing footsie with Israel much before the Abraham Accords, which led to the UAE and Bahrain normalising ties with Israel, followed by Sudan and Morocco. Saudi Arabia was next in line, but since Israel’s war on Gaza, following the October 7 Hamas attack, the move has been on hold. Though the powerful Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS as he is commonly called, is keen on maintaining ties with Israel, the support of his people in the bazaars and streets of the Arab world for the Palestinians has made Riyadh push the pause button.