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By Associated Press
Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced Friday that the Israeli prime minister was returning from a visit to Oman, a Gulf country, where he had joined the country's leader at the first meeting of its kind since over 20 years old.
The office said Friday in a statement that Netanyahu had been invited by the Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said after lengthy communications.
Israel and Oman do not have diplomatic relations. This meeting was the first between the leaders of the two countries since 1996. Former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin had made a similar surprise visit to Oman two years earlier in 1994.
The sultanate has long played a discreet role in promoting negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and has openly called for the need for a Palestinian state while recognizing the need for an Israeli state.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also made a three-day visit to Oman earlier this week.
"Israel has a direct link with a member of the Arab League and the Palestinians benefit from Oman's help to contact the Israelis without conceding anything directly. It's a win-win choice, "said Gamal Abdel Gawad, academic advisor at the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. "Palestinians take a strong stand against the Trump and Netanyahu government and yet they must speak to the Israelis."
Although historic, the Netanyahu meeting did not immediately mark a breakthrough in peace efforts, as Oman does not have the influence of nations like Saudi Arabia to make a strong case for one or the other. other party or to bring them closer to the negotiating table.
Netanyahu and his wife were joined by the head of the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, the director of his Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other defense officials.
Netanyahu has reiterated in recent years that Israel has developed good relations with several Arab states, despite the lack of formal links.
The Israeli Prime Minister and the Omani Sultan issued a joint statement in which they "discussed ways to move the Middle East peace process forward and addressed a number of issues of common interest with a view to achieving peace in the Middle East". 39, the establishment of peace and stability in the Middle East ".
Oman, which lies at the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, with Saudi Arabia to the north and Iran to the east, is reputed to be a silent broker in the region, choosing to remain on the sidelines of the rivalry between the two regional powers. Although he is a member of the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council of six countries, he did not join the kingdom in the boycott of Qatar or the war in Yemen.
His foreign minister made a rare visit to an Arab official in the West Bank earlier this year.
Charlene Gubash contributed.
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