Reuters, Manama :
Oman is offering ideas to help Israel and the Palestinians to come together but is not acting as mediator, Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, the sultanate’s minister responsible for foreign affairs said on Saturday.
Oman relies on the United States and efforts by President Donald Trump in working toward this “deal of the century” (Middle East peace), Alawi bin Abdullah told a security summit in Bahrain a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Oman.
Bahrain’s foreign minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa voiced support for Oman over the sultanate’s role in trying to secure Israeli-Palestinian peace, while Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said the kingdom believes the key to normalizing relations with Israel was the peace process.
Netanyahu’s rare visit to Oman came days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas paid a three-day visit to the Gulf country and also met Omani leader Sultan Qaboos.
Netanyahu was accompanied on Friday by senior officials, including the head of the Mossad intelligence agency and his national security adviser.
Bin Alawi said “Israel is a state present in the region, and we all understand this, the world is also aware of this fact and maybe it is time for Israel to be treated the same and also bear the same obligations.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made the first visit to Oman by an Israeli premier in over 20 years, officials said Friday, in an apparent sign of growing regional ties.
The surprise meeting with Oman’s Sultan Qaboos late Thursday, which was kept secret until Netanyahu’s return home, comes despite the two nations having no diplomatic ties.
The trip is a major coup for Netanyahu, who has said he wants to bolster ties with the Arab world despite a stalemate on the Palestinian front.
“A special visit in Oman-we’re making history!” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter, posting a video of his reception and meeting.
Netanyahu and Sultan Qaboos discussed the Middle East peace process “and other issues of shared interest”, the Israeli premier’s office said in a statement.
Netanyahu was accompanied by his wife Sara and his delegation included Mossad intelligence chief Yossi Cohen and National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat.
The visit came at the invitation of Sultan Qaboos and followed “lengthy contacts between the two countries”, the Israeli statement said.
