In announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, President Joe Biden also renewed his pitch for a comprehensive normalization plan to create a lasting peace in the Middle East.

Biden, speaking from the Rose Garden on Tuesday afternoon, announced that his administration “remains prepared” to negotiate an Israeli–Saudi normalization deal that would also include the creation of a Palestinian state, a U.S.-Saudi security pact, and economic assurance.

“The United States remains prepared to conclude a set of historic deals with Saudi Arabia to include a security pact and economic assurances, together with a credible pathway for establishing a Palestinian state and the full normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, desire they both have,” Biden said.

The Biden administration had been working toward Israel-Saudi normalization efforts before Hamas carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, which derailed those conversations. A day later, Hezbollah began carrying out daily rocket and missile fires over the border, and those attacks have continued unabated in the more than 13 months since.

“I believe this agenda remains possible,” the president said. However, he added, “Getting all this done will require making some hard choices.”

A senior Biden administration official acknowledged, however, that Israel’s war in Gaza “is holding us back.”

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have criticized the possible creation of a Palestinian state, with some arguing that it amounts to rewarding Hamas’s attack.

The official said the administration has heard in recent days from relevant parties who have indicated there’s “a window of opportunity here if we can get some changes in Gaza to be able to reach this normalization now. I think the political and geopolitical stars of both are aligned.”

Biden said the U.S. will make a renewed push to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal that would end the war and secure the release of the roughly 100 Israeli hostages whom Hamas has held since the Oct. 7 attacks.

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Israel-Saudi normalization efforts would, in effect, be a continuation of efforts previously undertaken by the first Trump administration. During the Trump presidency, Israel agreed to normalize ties with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan.

The senior Biden administration official said they have gotten “every indication that the new team coming in are supportive of this approach.”