Putin Unleashes Record Bombing in Ukraine as the World Watches Gaza

Ukraine needs all the air defense they can get. Russia has been signaling they will try again to freeze the civilian population this winter.

If we'd shift funds from Israel (who are committing genocide) to Ukraine (who are defending themselves) it helps Palestine and hurts Russia too.
Is a win/win.
Imagine if Ukraine had the iron dome America bought Israel.
- Imagine if Ukraine had the iron dome America bought Israel.
  I know your heart is in the right place but ID barely covers a city and operating costs are extremely high. Right now the missiles that the ID system uses cost something around $1,000,000 each so defending just this latest bombing run would have been $90,000,000 USD.
  No one could afford to operate the system even if it could be built.
- Israel doesn't actually need American money, unfortunately. Sure, it helps them, but they can continue this campaign for a long time without a dollar from the U.S. Ukraine, on the other hand, is a much more desperate situation. I'm not saying that means we shouldn't shift funds from Israel to Ukraine, because I agree we should do that, but it will likely not help Palestinians much.
- So you want Israel to be bombed even more and everyone there killed? Because that's the plan of Palestine and Lebanon (which is genocide btw). And would happen if they didn't have the iron dome.
- Israel is defending itself as well. They just have a better counter attack success rate. Or did we forget that Ukraine also wants to bomb Moscow etc. (and has launched drones etc).
  The key difference is one is a gov one is a terror org who represents their gov.
- Imagine all the dead Jews that would cause too.
  Palestine isn’t a nation of saints.
- There is a lot of misinformation in your comment.
  The United States didn't fund Israel's iron dome system.
  There isn't a genocide (race / tribe killing) in Gaza. That's a population transfer or eviction of lands.
  Ukraine and the United States are working together to implement a air defense system. A likely defense treaty and a 100 year lease on military bases in exchange for infrastructure rebuilding is on the table.

Looks like it's all going according to Putin's plan.

I'm the last guy to put on a tinfoil hat, but the whole situation seems like it was engineered by Russia to take pressure off their war with the Ukraine.

I'd say it's simpler than that. Russia keeps funding regions it wants destabilized so something bad is always happening at a time good for Russia.
No tinfoil hat, but total Scumbag Putin.
- Guy must have a copy of 7 Effective Habits.
- Yes, you prefer your James Bond chessmater plan than facts.
More likely an opportune moment for Putin. The Gaza conflict seems to have been primarily stoked by Iran over concerns of growing positive Israel and Saudi Arabia relations
- And Russia has been purchasing large amounts of Iranian munitions. It's not that far fetched for Russia to simply throw some money at Iran to throw a bit less money at Hamas to start some shit
There was no real indication for the scope and intensity of the hamas attacks. Based on US and Israeli Intel. There were some kind of warning signs, but nothing pointing to this ferocity. I think fighters got far further than they could dream of, and the severity of the response is a direct reaction to the failure of the isreali army to see and stop the attack. It's difficult to believe that the kremlin had more and better information to know that an attack would lead to war on the scale we see today. And I'm willing to believe that Russia sees benefits in arming hamas through the lens of geopolitics, they aren't controlling the actions of hamas in any meaningful way, I certainly don't believe that.
Putin is just taking advantage and is absolutely never harmed by being seen as some kind of geopolitical mastermind. He isn't.
Take the pressure off to help optics but also to squeeze any western support
They said that the Hamas attack took at least one year to plan, maybe 18 months. Putin thought he would win the war on Ukraine quickly.
So I have my doubts that this was perfectly orchestrated to take attention away at the right time.
Russia and Iran's strategy is more likely loosely aligned.
- Putin would have steamrolled Ukraine quickly if Trump had been reelected. There's a reason Russian troops massed on the Ukraine border right at the election. Putin couldn't back down when Trump lost, and lose face.
- Presumably he knew there was more than an outside chance the war took over a year. And it could easily have been assisted by Russia while already in the works.
Given how much Putin spent on Israilian DPI and their other... systems, I don't see it impossible.
It was a great plan, if so. Russia obviously knew Israel wanted to start completing the genocide, and it wouldnt be beyond belief that Russia got extra rocket supplies into Gaza. It's not even, like, deceitful, it's just good planning. The best way to get away with something is to get someone else to do something way worse. And genocide is clearly way worse than Russia reclaiming a historically Russian area.
Why not the opposite in that case? Why can't the Ukraine thing be a distraction, if one of these events is a distraction for the other?

Fuck Putin, the warmongering cunt. I hope Ukraine continues to get Western support and can kick Russia out of their country, however slim the chances might be looking right now. Russia extending its influence and things gradually going back to business as usual, only for them to do it again in another 10 years won't be good for any Western democracies.

Haven't really been following the Israel/Palestine thing much to be honest, but it would be nice if people would stop killing one another. Also really sucks that it benefits Putin.

I truly feel like if we let Russia get anything that might count as a positive for them from this war, there will definitely be a new war of at least similar scale, but probably significantly worse and significantly less contained.
- We let Hitler take shit and it didn't end well, the repurcussions of that are at war today.
- Russia wants to keep unobstructed access to the Black Sea, for its freight and military ships.
  The EU and China want to keep a railroad from China to the EU, through Kazakhstan and Ukraine or Belarus, to cut in half the time freight ships take.
  Both need control over the same piece(s) of land.
  For reference:
  Unified Deep Water System of European Russia
  Dec 10, 2014 - First direct China-Madrid freight train arrives after epic 13,000km journey
The chances aren't as slim as many people seem to imagine. Putin is basically in a holding pattern for now. He's holding out on the chance that Trump might win a second term, thus changing everything about the current dynamic. If Trump doesn't win, Putin is probably in pretty big trouble since he almost certainly won't survive a defeat in Ukraine and will be hard-pressed to find a good exit that doesn't look like one.
- How is trump remotely relevant to Putin?
It is sad to see Putin's oligarchs "honorable buisnessmen", while everyone else should cross border naked and without phones or laptops. If they were lucky enough to get visa in the first place.
in another 10 years won't be good for any Western democracies.
Another 10 years of Putin won't be good for any democracy. Fuck Putin.
Putin the war monger? Bro, Biden is literally funding genocide. The west calling Putin a warmonger is insanely hypocritical. It's not Russia that is responsible for most of the violence in the middle east in the 21st century, America is.
- is this 'the west' in the room with us
  does he have a blog perhaps, id love to read his takes

Makes sense, UN can only produce a finite amount of concern, not enough to express it on 2 major conflicts.

UN doing absolutely diddly in two major theaters of conflict rather than just the one.
- The UN's role is to prevent conflict between major powers, not stop all war period. It has done an exemplary job at that, better than any organization in history. There have been no wars between major world powers in the past 75 years. Prior to that, all empires were constantly at each other's throats.
- You don't understand what the UN is. It's a common misconception.
  The purpose of the UN is to have a diplomatic environment where all can be heard in front of all others. It's to encourage diplomatic solutions to problems and to defuse conflicts.
  The UN doesn't have any way to do anything, it's merely a fancy forum. Its members could meet at the UN and decide to do something (although it can be legally complicated) but that's not on the UN.

At this point, pouring on the bombs (shortly after gloating that the new speaker in congress suits Russia) seems likely to be as much about shifting morale (getting Ukraine to worry that its support from the west will dry up with Kremlin toadies in control of Washington's purse strings) as it is about on-the-ground strategy or tactics.

It's not like new Israeli atrocities detracts significantly from the world's ability to pay attention to the atrocities in Ukraine, but anything that gives Moscow something else to gesture at gives it something to whatabout over, and getting the rest of the world (including nato members and US politicians) to fight amongst themselves (over whether it's better to back a genocidal ethnostate or the terrorists resisting it) is always a win when the alternative might be for them to unify against your invasion of Ukraine.

And still getting his ass kicked by civilian volunteers with drones.

Why don't the Russian people get rid of this asshole?

It's a little harder than you imagine Source: I'm Russian
- Ye, me too brother. People think 🤔 Russia is like easily changeable or something... I think people forget just how many Russians and other people Russians have killed and imprisoned since Russia began so to say. I think people don't understand that Russia never had a democracy... Ever. I don't think people get that it's not easy to live and survive in Russia no matter when and where...
  Also it's as if people pretend not to know that if You protest 🪧 anything in Russia; you're fucked.
  People also don't know that the policemen rape people / men in prison. They torture You and rape you. At anytime You can be put in an MMA style fight against an opponent who will brutalize You before You die of the physical injuries.
  I don't think people understand that if the world doesn't help to establish a democracy in Russia that Russia will always ; always go back to its corrupt ways.
  I don't think people understand that there are also Russians who've been totally brainwashed just the same way that people got / get brainwashed in states like China, north Korea and Nazi Germany ( in the passed ) , imperial Japan etc.
  I don't think people get that its not easy to be the hero a martar or organize a rebellion when you're under a violent regime and when all you have is your small family or none at all
- Seems pretty simple, get tank, stand on tank with paper, scream loudly and voila we are done. Also, radiation salad works well.
Gosh.... Why didn't the Germans kill Hitler? Why didn't Japanese kill their "emperor" during world war 2? Why didn't soviets kill Stalin or lenin ? What's up with the dictators in China, why didn't the Chinese kill them ? Why don't the north Koreans kill their "leader"? Why didn't Iraqi people kill Saddam Husain? Why didn't Syria kill their Bashar al Assad? Why didn't the Cubans kill Fidel Castro? Why didn't the French kill Napoleon Bonaparte?
Maybe 🤔😏 people just LOVE living under dictatorial regimes?
Who knows?... We'll probably never know...
/S
- We were all wondering how Trump made it out alive tbh
- The French managed it. The Haitians. Even the Libyans. I know it's easier said than done, but quitters never win, do they?
Why don't the israelis get rid of Netanyahu?
Why don't the Americans get rid of Genocide Joe?
Be the change you want to see in the world.
- Genocide Joe? 🙄
  And who should voters replace him with, Mr Answers?
- Israel managed to get rid of Netenyahu for a year or two but then he regained power.
- Its different because America and Israel are democracies. Therefore, they can kill as many people as they want and its okay actually.
  Putin is an evil dictator leading a rogue state (That's on the verge of collapse! Any day now!) And suggesting he is in any way like an Israeli or an American flags you as a Chinese Robot Antifa Fifth Columnist Hamas Affiliated Trump Supporter.

It is amazing how the news cycle dropped Ukraine so fast. Not good for getting US support, but I think Ukraine can still get support from Europe.

dropped?
we never drop our money makers just because you don't hear about it. Double the wars, double the profits. what are you even talking about? All I see is money money money. now we get to ask for even more money as there is more demand and limited supply.
- Mr. Krabs? What are you doing on Lemmy?
- Money money money. Almost like money makes the world go 'round.

Can we please give the armed forces of Ukraine finally airplanes? The offensive is going nowhere if they are not supplied with an edge in combat gear.

Unfortunately it’s not that easy.
They have already got a large sum of F16’s, but it takes training of Ukrainian pilots before they can be used in combat.
From what I understand they should be ready to fly in early 2024. That still a long time to go - but you don’t want to lose pilots or planes because of inexperience with that type of airplane.
3-4 months until planned delivery of F16s
- The planes aren't what's taking time. The F-16s are either being used for training, which is totally unnecessary as that training takes place in the US, and we have a few hundred of the things pretty much just sitting around, or are on standby to be deployed. The training of the pilots is what's taking time. I suspect Putin knows he's about to lose air superiority, and this attack is a demonstration of that. He's using what little weapons he has left, while he still can.
Nothing the West is willing to provide is going to change the course of the war alone. That ship has sailed, this is back to an attritional war with positional fighting.
The only thing the West can do now is provide LONG term commitments, written in law e.g. locked in funding for 5+ years of arms transfers.
Unfortunately, I don't know how good the odds are that will happen. I hope it does, but we'll just have to wait and see.
The ONLY other way for either Russia, or Ukraine, to win, is a new technological development that enables a significant change to the current battlefield dynamics.
This is a fairly simplified analysis, but it does align with the most current assessments provided by both the Ukrainian and Russian military leadership.
Haven't you seen the pattern:
Ukraine: Give us [some weapon].
US/NATO: No, it would mean WW3.
Let some time pass.
US/NATO: Well, we could send you some [some weapon].
Rinse and repeat.

The world watching has never stopped him before.

What a totally unforeseeable situation.

So he's... not dead?

Saying goes it is a doppler

I think he doesn't want Laos to be the most bombed country in the world anymore.

90 bombs is more what was dropped per second there, not per day
- Yeah calling 90 bombs 'record' is a deep, almost orange hue of piss yellow journalism

Buy 2 TVs, so you can watch both human miseries unfold at the same time! Better than anything Hollywood or Bollywood or Nollywood could ever produce! And when you get bored, just vote in another war fueling and genocide financing psychopathic "lesser evil" moron into the office, so you never get bored of human despair and pain.

honestly? America only had as much to do with the Ukraine war as it was giving them the ability to defend themselves.

Lol to the comments saying it is engineered by Iran and Russia.

WHILE ISRAELIS MINISTER ASK THE GOVERNMENT TO NUKE GAZA

AND THE OTHER TO STOP PEOPLE FROM HARVESTING OLIVES IN THE WEST BANK. WHICH SHOULD NOT BE UNDER THERE RULE ANYWAY..

If you allow and support Isreal attack on Gaza Without any form of accountability of War Crimes Based on UN definitions of War Crimes, Russia will do the same...

Russia has already been doing the same for a year and a half now, you absolute fucking nozzle. WTF is wrong with you people? Have you no fucking decency? Your selective outrage is telling.
Oh boy. Anyways, that's just how the right wingers make themselves look more moderate by incorporating extremist into the mix to act as a lightning rod with their idiotic and completely ultraviolent positions.
and at least, they do that against a sovereign and military state - and West providing ammunition and weapons.
Israeli is really a piece of shit!

Russian: fighting an armed country and fueled by NATO members
Israel: fighting. I mean BOMBING from their heated offices, civil without shoes and haven't sleep for 2weeks

Oh and between, Russia has been cut off from SWIFT, assets frozen if not stolen, etc etc... Israel? freepass

You can't make more cynical, and binary treatment, you can't

I don’t support Israel, but the Russians attacked unprovoked. They’re not 1:1.
its true, they should both be getting the same, punitive treatment
Russia: fighting to expand their territory because they want a new world order led by them Israel: responding to their most terrifying act of terror ever happened on their land.
Reason matters, and a lot. Russia has no good reason to invade Ukraine, Israel has a very good reason to invade Gaza.
- Theyre both violating the Geneva Convention...
  There's no valid reason to violate that, that's the whole point of it.
- Lemmy is just weirdly pro-Hamas and anti-Israel.
  Don't get me wrong, I think what Israel is doing sucks, but what Hamas is doing is equally bad. This is really a both-sides situation.
- You left out the part where Israel has been murdering Palestinians and stealing their land for decades, and turned Gaza into an open air prison. That kind of thing pisses people off.
  That still doesn't make any of this right.
- There is a difference between invading and turning Gaza into a concentration camp.
  You'd think the Jews would know better.
- Israel brought the terror on themselves. They are literally committing genocide.
  Also, Russia is fighting to maintain it's black sea port, which NATO interfered with. That territory has always been Russian, and only US propaganda claims otherwise. Want proof? Go look at the board games Diplomacy and Axis and Allies, based on WW1/2 respectively. Both show Crimea as Russia. Or just look at Wikipedia, for this and other easily verifiable facts.

Just as planned

Well, given that at the same time as Russia dropped 100 bombs, once, Israel dropped 400+ (and in a much more heavilly populated area, so killing about 10s or maybe even 100 times more civilians), every night, it's hardly surprising that at least the people who were against the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a question of principle (the strong attacking the weak, the murdering of innocent civilians for merelly having been born were they were born, the calous disregard for people's lives and so on) are focused were a far more extreme case of it is happenning.

That in Palestine, the US and some of the largest European nations, unlike in Ukraine, actually support the strong who are murdering innocent civilians in massive numbers, just makes those who are natural supporters of victims to be even more focused on Palestine since the "great" powers in that case have not sided with the main victims but instead are giving cover and even monetary and military support to the side commiting a genocide, making such people feel their support is even more needed in the face of such "coalition of the strong".

Meanwhile the crowd who are driven to take sides for reasons other than principle or morality are also being guided to focus on Palestine, the nationalists in nations which support one of the sides because their nation's leader or favored politician is supporting that side, whilst the ones who mindlessly follow the baiting of the more propagandistic news and social media because the propaganda in most of those newspapers, TV channels and social networks is now entirelly focused on Palestine.

In summary, the crowd driven by morals and principles are focused where the greatest underdogs are being victimized the most and, worse, that is supported by the powerful, and the rest are either looking at the same because that's were their national or political leaders point them to or because pretty much the entirety of the propaganda in the most manipulated newsmedia or social media is about that.

It's almost paradoxical that Ukraine's success at stopping Russia (thus avoiding the kind of mass civilian casualties there would be in something like a siege of Kiyv) thanks to the help of nations that are now supporting a side doing the invasion an mass killings, means that their plight is merelly a fraction of that of the Palestinians hence they eyes of the World are turned to the latter.

- Nobody forces you to read those.
  It's absolutelly fine to stick to simple bite-sized ideas that simplify everything to black and white for those for whom complex views are too much to digest as is absolutelly fine for others to prepare full meals for those who can and want to feed their brains with more than just fizzy drinks and candy.
  However if scrolling down a little bit to go over that text causes you movement sickness as you illustrated, I do apologize and promise to give the appropriate level of consideration for people suffering from such a disability.

What else should Putin have done that servers the interests of Russia and russians the best?

Get out of Ukraine sounds good for a start.
- Yeah but you see, he can't, because NATO made him do it. NATO is weak and decadent by the way, but simultaneously strong enough to force Nice Guy Putin into doing things he wouldn't have done otherwise.
  What I really mean to say is, the West is responsible for these bombings (I am very intelligent).
- But why have the US and West not been able to kick him out? Isn't Russia a gas-station? Isn't Putin weak? Isn't the Russian army weak? Isn't "the whole world" agaist Putin? Isn't UA winning all the time, at any given time?
- How would then Putin defeat US and EU?

Putin sees there's no consequences for butchering thousands of civilians. Proceeds to do the same.

What makes you think this is his first time? Have you been paying attention at all? Are you somehow oblivious to the thousands of Ukrainian civilians who've already been killed by Putin? This selective outrage blows me away. Have you been asleep for the last year and a half? This is the madness of crowds.
- The difference between Putin and Israel is... that Putin "rescued", relocated, and gave a bunch of children to surrogate families, before bombing their parents.
  I mean... that's "technically" less inhumane, or something?
- Putin has killed fewer civilians in Ukraine in 2.5 years than Netanyahu has in Gaza in 30 days. Israel has shown that there are no costs for him to escalate dramatically as it's clear the world won't do anything.

One day US and EU propaganda claim that Putin and Russia are on a brick of collapse, that the russian army is unable of anything and UA is winning. The next day they'll cry that the same russian army is 1st or 2nd strongest in the world, that it overpowers UA in all ways possible despite that US and EU help the latter.

And so on back and forth. Yet they claim that they don't engage in propaganda and misinformation.

russian army is way more professional than th UA one
Never seen a single western article claiming that.
- Putin is a master of your mind - he makes you think of him all the time.

Israel dropped 6000 bombs in one week, on an area much smaller... More children have died in the first 25 days of the current Israeli conflict than in a year of the war on Ukraine.

I did not know this was a competition where only one could "win".
- It's more like a competition where the bystanders lose

Russia ---- Iran ----- Hamas

Israel, the USA, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were in the midst of high level talks for KSA to recognize Israel with the United States providing a weapons package to KSA, and then 4000 "Palestinians" stormed the Israeli border on October 7th, raped, burnt, beheaded and slaughtered close to 2000 Israeli citizens, causing the largest loss of Jewish life, in any single day, anywhere, since the end of the Holocaust

Could you provide a source on these talks between US, KSA, and Israel? This sounds plausible, but it would be the first I've heard of it.
- https://www.reuters.com/world/us-saudi-defence-pact-tied-israel-deal-palestinian-demands-put-aside-2023-09-29/
  Sept 29 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is determined to secure a military pact requiring the United States to defend the kingdom in return for opening ties with Israel and will not hold up a deal even if Israel does not offer major concessions to Palestinians in their bid for statehood, three regional sources familiar with the talks said.
  A pact might fall short of the cast-iron, NATO-style defence guarantees the kingdom initially sought when the issue was first discussed between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Joe Biden during the U.S. president's visit to Saudi Arabia in July 2022.
  Instead, a U.S. source said it could look like treaties Washington has with Asian states or, if that would not win U.S. Congress approval, it could be similar to a U.S. agreement with Bahrain, where the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet is based. Such an agreement would not need congressional backing.
  Washington could also sweeten any deal by designating Saudi Arabia a Major Non-NATO Ally, a status already given to Israel, the U.S. source said.
  But all the sources said Saudi Arabia would not settle for less than binding assurances of U.S. protection if it faced attack, such as the Sept. 14, 2019 missile strikes on its oil sites that rattled world markets. Riyadh and Washington blamed Iran, the kingdom's regional rival, although Tehran denied having a role.
  Agreements giving the world's biggest oil exporter U.S. protection in return for normalisation with Israel would reshape the Middle East by bringing together two longtime foes and binding Riyadh to Washington after China's inroads in the region. For Biden, it would be a diplomatic victory to vaunt before the 2024 U.S. election.
  The Palestinians could get some Israeli restrictions eased but such moves would fall short of their aspirations for a state. As with other Arab-Israeli deals forged over the decades, the Palestinian core demand for statehood would take a back seat, the three regional sources familiar with the talks said.
  "The normalisation will be between Israel and Saudi Arabia. If the Palestinians oppose it the kingdom will continue in its path," said one of the regional sources. "Saudi Arabia supports a peace plan for the Palestinians, but this time it wanted something for Saudi Arabia, not just for the Palestinians."
  The Saudi government did not respond to emailed questions about this article.
  'LESS THAN A FULL TREATY'
  A U.S. official, who like others declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the parameters of a defence pact were still being worked out, adding that what was being discussed "would not be a treaty alliance or anything like that ... It would be a mutual defence understanding, less than a full treaty."
  The official said it would be more like the U.S. relationship with Israel, which receives the most advanced U.S. weapons and holds joint air force and missile defence drills.
  A source in Washington familiar with the discussions said MbS had asked for a NATO-style treaty but said Washington was reluctant to go as far as NATO's Article 5 commitment that an attack on one ally is considered an attack on all.
  The source said Biden's aides could consider a pact patterned on those with Japan and other Asian allies, under which the U.S. pledges military support but is less explicit about whether U.S. troops would be deployed. However, the source said some U.S. lawmakers might resist such a pact.
  Another template, which would not need congressional approval, would be the agreement signed with Bahrain on Sept. 13, in which the U.S. pledged to "deter and confront any external aggression" but also said the two governments would consult to determine what, if any, action would be taken.
  The source in Washington said Saudi Arabia could be designated a Major Non-NATO Ally, a step which had long been considered. This status, which several Arab states such as Egypt have, comes with a range of benefits, such as training.
  The second of the regional sources said Riyadh was compromising in some demands to help secure a deal, including over its plans for civilian nuclear technology. The source said Saudi Arabia was ready to sign Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, establishing a framework for U.S. peaceful nuclear cooperation, a move Riyadh previously refused to take.
  The Gulf source said the kingdom was prepared to accept a pact that did not match a NATO Article 5 guarantee but said the U.S. had to commit to protecting Saudi Arabia if its territory was attacked. The source also said a deal could be similar to Bahrain's agreement but with extra commitments.
  'LOTS OF WORK TO DO'
  In response to emailed questions about details in this article, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said: "Many of the key elements of a pathway towards normalisation are now on the table and there is a broad understanding of those elements, which we will not discuss publicly."
  "There's still lots of work to do, and we're working through it," the spokesperson added, saying there was not yet a formal framework and stakeholders were working on legal and other elements.
  The spokesperson did not address specifics about the U.S.-Saudi defence pact in the response.
  Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the possibility of a "historic" peace with Saudi Arabia, the heartland of Islam. But to secure the prize, Netanyahu has to win the approval of parties in his a far-right coalition which reject any concessions to the Palestinians.
  MbS said in a Fox News interview this month that the kingdom was moving steadily closer to normalising ties with Israel. He spoke about the need for Israel to "ease the life of the Palestinians" but made no mention of Palestinian statehood.
  Nevertheless, diplomats and the regional sources said MbS was insisting on some commitments from Israel to show he was not abandoning the Palestinians and that he was seeking to keep the door open to a two-state solution.
  Those would include demanding Israel transfer some Israeli-controlled territory in the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority (PA), limit Jewish settlement activity and halt any steps to annex parts of the West Bank. Riyadh has also promised financial aid to the PA, the diplomats and sources said.
  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said any bargain must recognise the Palestinian right to a state within the 1967 borders, including East Jerusalem, and must stop Israeli settlement building. However, all the sources said a Saudi-Israeli deal was unlikely to address those flashpoint issues.
  Netanyahu has said Palestinians should not have a veto over any peacemaking deal.
  Yet, even if the U.S, Israel and Saudi Arabia agree, winning support from lawmakers in the U.S. Congress remains a challenge.
  Republicans and those in Biden's Democratic Party have previously denounced Riyadh for its military intervention in Yemen, its moves to prop up oil prices and its role in the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who worked for the Washington Post. MbS denied ordering the killing.
  "What's important for Saudi Arabia is for Biden to have the pact approved by Congress," the first regional source said, pointing to concessions Riyadh was making to secure a deal.
  For Biden, a deal that builds a U.S.-Israeli-Saudi axis could put a brake on China's diplomatic inroads after Beijing brokered a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which Washington accuses of seeking nuclear arms. Tehran denies this.
  "There was a sense that the U.S. has abandoned the region," said one diplomat. "By courting China, the Saudis wanted to create some anxiety that will make the U.S. re-engage. It has worked."
  Reporting by Samia Nakhoul in Dubai, James Mackenzie, Dan Williams and Ali Sawafta in Jerusalmen, Aziz El Yaacouby in Riyadh, Steve Holland, Matt Spetalnick, Humeyra Pamuk and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Writing by Samia Nakhoul; Editing by Edmund Blair
- He's probably living in a fantasy world.