Oman welcomes Bahrain-Israel normalisation decision

Published September 13, 2020
Bahrain has not commented on its own prospects for normalised relations.
Bahrain has not commented on its own prospects for normalised relations.

Oman welcomes Bahrain’s decision to normalise relations with Israel and hopes it will contribute to Israeli-Palestinian peace, Oman state media said on Sunday.

Bahrain on Friday became the second Gulf country to normalise ties with Israel after the United Arab Emirates said they would do so a month ago, moves forged partly through shared fears of Iran.

“[Oman] hopes this new strategic path taken by some Arab countries will contribute to bringing about a peace based on an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and on establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as capital,” the government statement said.

Israel’s intelligence minister said a few days after the UAE-Israel accord was announced on Aug 13 that Oman could also formalise ties with the country. Oman has welcomed the UAE and Bahraini decisions, but has not commented on its own prospects for normalised relations.

In 2018 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Oman and discussed peace initiatives in the Middle East with then-Omani leader Sultan Qaboos.

In a turbulent region, Oman has maintained its neutrality. It has kept friendly relations with a range of regional actors, including arch-foes the United States and Iran.

Opinion

Editorial

Ultimate price
Updated 02 Nov, 2024

Ultimate price

To dismantle culture of impunity for crimes against journalists, state must ensure that perpetrators do not go unpunished.
Mastung bombing
02 Nov, 2024

Mastung bombing

INSTABILITY continues to haunt Balochistan, as Friday morning’s bombing in Mastung has shown. At least nine...
Plane speak
02 Nov, 2024

Plane speak

DESPITE all its efforts to facilitate PIA’s privatisation, it seems the government only ended up being taken for a...
Seeking investment
Updated 01 Nov, 2024

Seeking investment

Foreign visits will be fruitless unless crucial structural, policy reforms directly affecting investors are focused.
State-backed terror
01 Nov, 2024

State-backed terror

OVER the past year or so, India’s reportedly malign activities in foreign countries have increasingly come under the radar, with
Shared crisis
01 Nov, 2024

Shared crisis

WITH Lahore experiencing unprecedented levels of smog, the Punjab government has announced a series of “green...