Israel's prime minister visits Oman, an Arab monarchy

Israel’s prime minister visits Oman, an Arab monarchy

Published on Sunday, 4 November , 2018 159 Views

Sultan

#Binyamin Netanyahu #Oman #Sultan Qaboos

Two unusual photographs have been making the rounds on Arab social media.

SERVICE FEE REDUCTION ON PATENTS TO BOOST INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECTOR

The decision to reduce service fee for patents, utility models and industrial designs for students, research centres and…

The first (pictured) is of Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, being received by Sultan Qaboos of Oman at his palace in Muscat on October 26th.

The second, taken three days later, is of Israel’s culture and sports minister, Miri Regev, with Emirati officials at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

Responses to the photographs ranged from positive surprise to angry bemusement. Arabs, though, should get used to such scenes.

Mr Netanyahu’s visit was the first by an Israeli prime minister to the Gulf in over two decades. Israel has full diplomatic relations with only two Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan. But its ties with the Gulf have been improving for years. A common enemy, Iran, has brought it closer to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The issue of the Palestinians, which long divided them, has been pushed to the back burner.

Iran may also have come up during Mr Netanyahu’s visit to Muscat, which surprised even Gulf officials. Oman has maintained ties to the Islamic republic, annoying the Saudis and hawks in America. Welcoming Mr Netanyahu may blunt some of their criticism. It also makes Oman a potential interlocutor between Israel and Iran. Oman played a similar role, passing notes between America and Iran, during the Obama administration.

No matter the purpose, the trip was important. It took months of secret negotiations, handled by the chief of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency. “Israel has historically maintained under-the-table ties with many nations,” says an Israeli diplomat. “The problem has always been how to bring these out in the open. With the visit to Oman, Netanyahu has broken a glass ceiling.”

UK and Oman to open joint military training base in 2019

The UK and Oman will open a new joint training base in the sultanate early next year. The…

Keywords: Binyamin Netanyahu Oman Sultan Qaboos
Category Sultan | 2018/11/04 latest update at 11:40 AM
Source : Economist | Photocredit : Google

160 Views
Comments Add comment

Not content with the roads, Uber goes...

Huawei opens largest store in Oman

Pentagon plans to send 5,000 more troops...

The editorial staff of Oman Today would like to give all of its readers from Oman and Gulf and the whole world the opportunity to participate actively in the development of the website! If you have something interesting, fun, scandalous - just something worth to be seen from more people. Capture it and share it in the Oman Today with a short text.

Do you have information you want to reach our readers?

Send article/s

You can subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter and Google pages or use our RSS feed channel to always read the most important news about Oman, the Gulf and the world.