This week’s White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has left many in Israel deeply disturbed. In their eyes, the lavish welcome accorded the Saudi leader signaled not only the likely demise of the favored status Israel has enjoyed for decades in Washington — reflecting the erosion of its lobbying power — it has also cast doubt on the prospects of establishing official relations with the kingdom.

Normalization off the table

"MBS's visit to the White House is a defeat for Israel," a senior Israeli diplomatic source told Al-Monitor, speaking on condition of anonymity, referring to the crown prince by his monogram. "True, it's not a knockout, but it's still a loss. The bottom line of this visit is that the Saudis got Trump to sever the link between normalization with Israel and the prizes and prices that America would be willing to pay for it."

The senior Israeli diplomatic source was referring to the quid pro quo that in recent years had become a facet of US Middle East policy — the Americans would accede to various Saudi military and technological requests if Riyadh established diplomatic relations with Israel. Ahead of Prince Mohammed's visit, many in Israel expected an announcement, even if only a vague one, on normalization.