RIGHT NOW THE STOCK IS AT ABOUT
$13.20.
JAWS AROUND THE WORLD ARE
DROPPING ON AN AXIOS REPORT THAT
SAUDI ARABIA COULD BE ON THE
PATH TO NORMALIZING
RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL.
AXIOS SAYS THE U.S. IS QUIETLY
MEDIATING NEGOTIATIONS WHICH TO
START INVOLVE TEHRAN AND TWO
STRATEGICALLY-SIGNIFICANT ISLAND
S CONTROLLED THROUGHOUT
THE YEARS BY EGYPT AND THE SAUDI
S.
THOSE ISLANDS CONTROL THE
SEPARATES OF TEHRAN, THIS IS
A CRUCIAL SEA PASSAGE TO THE
PORTS OF JORDAN’S AKABAH, AND A
LOT IN THE SOUTH OF ISRAEL.
THE STRAIGHT IS ISRAEL’S ONLY
SHIPPING ROUTE OUT TO THE RED
SEA.
NOW THE POTENTIAL DEAL TO KEEP
THE ISLANDS DEMILITARIZED BE THE
MOST CRUCIAL U.S. FOREIGN
POLICY ADVANCEMENT IN THE MIDDLE
EAST SINCE THE ABRAHAM ACCORD
NEGOTIATED BY THE TRUMP
ADMINITRATION IN 2020.
JOINING US NOW ON A FOX BUSINESS
EXCLUSIVE, DANNY DANON, ISRAELI
AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS
FROM 2015-2020 AND WORKED WITH
THE U.S. TO CREATE THE AGREEMENT
AND ALSO THE AUTHOR OF THE BRAND
NEW BOOK "IN THE LION’S DEN, IRS
AND THE WORLD" AMBASSADOR, THANK
YOU FOR BEING HERE.
WHAT IS YOUR GUT REACTION TO
THIS NEWS?
I MEAN, I SEE IT AS ENCOURAGING
WE COULD BE LOOKING AT THE EARLY
STAGES OF AN EVENTUAL
NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS
BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE SAUDIS.
>> IT’S VERY EXCITING.
WE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH THE
ABRAHAM ACCORD, WITH THE UA
E, IN BAHRAIN AND MOROCCO
AND WE ARE RATING FOR THE DAY
THE SAUDIS WOULD JOIN FOR PEACE
AND IT’S HAPPENING SLOWLY,
QUIETLY.
YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING STARTED
BECAUSE OF THE NEGOTIATION
BETWEEN EGYPT AND SAUDI ARABIA
ABOUT THOSE TWO ISLANDS THAT THE
EGYPTIANS ACTUALLY ARE
WILLING TO GIVE TO THE SAUDIS
BUT ACCORDING TO THAT, WOMEN
WITH IRS IN THE 80S THEY CAN’T
DO IT WITHOUT THE PERMISSION AND
THAT’S WHY TODAY YOU HAVE QUIET
NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE SAUDIS AND
THE EGYPTIANS ABOUT THOSE TWO
IMPORTANT ISLANDS AND YOU SPEAK
A LOT ABOUT DEVELOPMENT.
THE SAUDIS INTEND TO ADVANCE
BILLIONS IN THE RED SEE , THEY
ARE BUILDING A HUGE CITY, THEY
WANT TO COMPETE WITH DUBAI AND
THE UAE, SO THEY WANT TO HAVE
CONTROL OVER THOSE ISLANDS AND
MAYBE IN THE FUTURE TO BUILD A
BRIDGE BETWEEN SAUDI ARABIA TO
EGYPT.
LIZ: CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT?
AND I FOUND OUT SOMETHING FROM
YOUR BOOK, "IN THE LIONS DEN"
ABOUT YOU.
I DIDN’T KNOW YOUR DAD WAS
EGYPTIAN BORN, SO HERE YOU ARE,
OBVIOUSLY A MAJOR IMPORTANT
DIPLOMAT IN ISRAEL HAVING SERVED
IN MANY DIFFERENT CAPACITIES FOR
THE GOVERNMENT.
DO YOU FIND IT INTERESTING,
BECAUSE WHEN YOU HELPED GET THE
ABRAHAM ACCORDS OVER THE
FINISH LINE, YOU KNOW,
ALREADY, YOU’RE LOOKING AS
ISRAELIS UNITED NATIONS
AMBASSADOR, YOU HAD FORGED
RELATIONSHIPS AND FRIENDSHIPS
WITH MUSLIM NATIONS BUT IT WAS
ALWAYS IN SECRET, AND THAT WAS
BY THEIR REQUEST.
YOU KNOW, AT WHAT POINT DOES
THIS GET OUT IN THE OPEN,
BECAUSE NOW, CERTAINLY, WITH THE
UAE AND BAHRAIN, WE’VE GOT
16 FLIGHTS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND
THOSE COUNTRIES?
I MEAN IT’S FANTASTIC, BUT YOU
KNOW, A LOT OF THIS IS STILL
SORT OF UNDER THE TABLE ISN’T IT
>> IT IS, IN THE BOOK, I TELL
THE STORY THAT I USED TO MEET
WITH THE AMBASSADOR FROM THE
YOU UAE, SO NOBODY WILL
ACTUALLY SEE US AND LOOK WHERE
WE ARE TODAY WHEN YOU HAVE SO
MANY FLIGHTS.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, IT’S
EXCITING, IT’S AMAZING, AND IT’S
PROVEN TO THE SAUDIS THAT THE U
AE IS ACTUALLY ENCOURAGING
THEIR FRIENDSHIP WITH THE
ISRAELIS AND NOTHING
HAPPENED TO THEM.
THE SAME WILL HAPPEN WITH THE
SAUDIS.
IN THE NEAR FUTURE, I THINK WE
WILL SEE SOME KIND OF
NORMALIZATION THAT WOULD ALLOW
FLIEDS TO FLY OVER SAUDI ARABIA,
EVEN FLIGHTS COMING TO SAUDI
ARABIA, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MORE
THAN 1.5 MUSLIM ISRAELIS THAT
WANT TO GO VISIT THE HOLY SITES
IN SAUDI ARABIA.
TODAY THEY HAVE TO TAKE A BUS
AND IT TAKES THEM DAYS TO COME
TO SAUDI ARABIA, SO WE ARE
WORKING ON DIRECT FLIGHTS ALSO
BETWEEN ISRAEL AND SAUDI ARABIA.
LIZ: WELL THAT COULD BE SUCH A
GAME CHANGER I THINK.
I NEED TO JUST TRANSITION OVER
TO UKRAINE RIGHT NOW.
ISRAEL OBVIOUSLY HAS TO WALK A
DIPLOMATIC TIGHT ROPE THAT IS
EXTRAORDINARILY, THEY HAVE TO DO
IT GINGERLY BECAUSE THE PROCESS
IS VERY DANGEROUS, I’M SURE, BUT
ISRAEL HAS BEEN A LITTLE TOO
QUIET FOR MUCH OF THE WORLD TO
ACCEPT, IN THAT THEY HAVE NOT
COME OUT AND REALLY SLAPPED DOWN
PUTIN FOR THE HORRIFIC WAR
CRIMES THAT HE HAS COMMITTED.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING ON
THERE?
>> I THINK WE DID THE RIGHT
THING.
WE SUPPORTED THE UKRAINIAN
PEOPLE WHEN THE VOTE CAME TO THE
FLOOR OF THE U.N., WE VOTED TO
CONDEMN RUSSIA.
I THINK THAT WAS THE RIGHT
DECISION.
AT THE BEGINNING, PRIME MINISTER
MADE A MISTAKE AND TRIED TO
NEGOTIATE BETWEEN PUTIN AND
ZELENSKYY AND IT WAS PREMATURE,
IT WASN’T THE RIGHT THING TO DO,
BUT AS YOU MENTIONED, WE HAVE A
LOT OF ISSUES ON OUR NORTHERN
BORDER, AND UNFORTUNATELY THE
RUSSIANS IN THIS AREA, SO WE
ARE SENSITIVE ABOUT THAT REGION.
LIZ: WELL, YEAH, THE RUSSIANS
ARE IN SYRIA, AND THERE’S, AGAIN
, ONE OF THESE UNDER THE
TABLE DEALS WHERE OKAY YOU
CAN DO WHAT YOU WANT, JUST DON’T
SPREAD IT OVER TO OUR COUNTRY.
WHAT I FIND FASCINATING ABOUT
THE BOOK, DANNY, "IN THE LION’S
DEN" IS THERE ARE PEOPLE VERY
QUICK TO CRITICIZE ISRAEL AND
SOME OF IT MAYBE IMPORTANT TO BE
SPOKEN ABOUT, BUT YOU HAVE
ALWAYS STAYED OPEN AND THE
COMMUNICATION LINES HAVE
REMAINED OPEN WHEN IT COMES TO
FORGING RELATIONSHIPS WITH
MUSLIM NATIONS, AND WE’LL BE
WATCHING TO SEE HOW ISN’T IT
FUNNY, BUSINESS IS WHAT IS
REALLY CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE IN
THE MIDDLE EAST.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
>> THANK YOU, WE HAVE SO MUCH
TO OFFER TO THE WORLD AND I
THINK THE BOOK REVEALS MANY OF
THE SECRETS HOW WE BECAME A
STARTUP NATION.
LIZ: ABSOLUTELY.
THANK YOU, DANNY DANON.