Obama Promises Saudi King that Israel will Withdraw from Jerusalem, West Bank

The sources said the president, reaffirming what Holbrooke said, pledged to adopt the Saudi plan for an Arab-Israeli settlement, which called for full Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes in what was now Israel.

Since the Obama pledge, the sources said, the White House has rejected virtually every Israeli request for U.S. weapons platforms. They said Obama also delayed decisions by the former administration of President George Bush to deliver attack helicopters, air transports, bunker-buster air bombs and Hellfire air-to-ground missiles to the Jewish state.

The sources said the White House has assessed that Saudi cooperation was vital amid the Taliban offensive in Afghanistan and the dismissal of U.S. commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal. On June 23, McChrystal resigned in wake of a magazine article in which he and other officers criticized Obama's policy in Afghanistan and the president's lack of military experience.

“The president has sent constant appeals to Abdullah to obtain a Taliban agreement for a ceasefire that could result in the start of an American and NATO withdrawal,” the source said. “But Abdullah first wants Obama to deliver on his promise concerning Israel. He [Abdullah] wants results before the congressional elections [in November 2010].”

The sources said Abdullah's impatience with Obama has been exacerbated by Saudi concern over Iran's nuclear weapons program. They said Riyad has been alarmed by Washington's failure to stop Teheran's ballistic missile and nuclear projects and instead pursue diplomacy with Iran.

“The Saudis are terrified of Iran, but they can't bring themselves to admitting that they need help,” the source said. “What they would rather do is publicly show how they are using Washington to do what Iran could never achieve — a full Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders without an Arab peace agreement.”