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MANAMA (Reuters) – Oman portrayed Israel as an accepted Middle Eastern state on Saturday, a day after the surprise visit by its prime minister, which Washington said could contribute to regional peace efforts.
On April 12, 2018, Bahrain's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, attends the Arab Foreign Affairs meeting in Riyadh. REUTERS / Faisal Al Nbader
Oman offers ideas to help Israel and the Palestinians come together. As a mediator, Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, the sultanate's foreign minister, said at a security summit in Bahrain.
"Israel is a state present in the region and we all understand it," bin Alawi said.
"The world is also aware of this fact. Perhaps it is time for Israel to be treated the same way [as others states] and that it also bears the same obligations. "
His remarks follow a rare visit to Oman by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas paid three one-day visits to the Gulf country. Sultan Qaboos of Oman
"We are not saying that the road is now easy and paved with flowers, but our priority is to end the conflict and move to a new world," bin Alawi told the summit.
Oman supports the United States and the efforts of President Donald Trump to work for "the agreement of the century" (peace in the Middle East), he added.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa expressed his support for Oman for the role of the Sultanate in the attempt to secure Israeli-Palestinian peace, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain Saudi Arabia, Adel al-Jubeir, ad clared that the kingdom was essential for the normalization of relations with Israel. peace process.
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain attended the three-day summit. US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and his Italian and German counterparts also participated, but Jordan's King Abdullah canceled his appearance after a flood that killed 21 people in the Dead Sea region.
Trump's envoy for the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, welcomed the "warming ties and growing cooperation between our regional friends" in a tweet on Friday night.
"This is a useful step for our peace efforts and essential to create a climate of stability, security and prosperity between Israelis, Palestinians and their neighbors. I look forward to seeing other meetings like this one! Greenblatt said.
CURBING IRAN
Israel and some Gulf states have an interest in limiting Iran's influence in the region.
Oman has long been in the Middle East what neutral Switzerland is to world diplomacy. The country helped mediate the secret talks between the United States and Iran in 2013, which culminated in the landmark nuclear deal signed in Geneva two years later.
Earlier this year, bin Alawi visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and Netanyahu repeatedly referred to warmer relations with the Gulf states.
He told the Israeli parliament last week that, fearing a nuclear threat from Iran, "Israel and other Arab countries are closer than ever before."
Israeli leaders rarely visited the Gulf State.
In 1996, the late Shimon Peres went to Oman and Qatar when he was prime minister and opened commercial representation offices for Israel in the two Gulf countries.
His predecessor, the late Yitzhak Rabin, made his first trip to Oman in 1994.
During his visit on Friday, Netanyahu was accompanied by senior officials, including the head of the Mossad intelligence agency and his National Security Advisor.
Writing of Hadeel al Sayegh, additional report by Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Edition of Clelia Oziel
