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Oman rejects claims it's establishing diplomatic relations with Israel

Tuesday, 02 July 2019 2:50 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 02 July 2019 5:53 PM ]

This file photo shows a view of the Omani Foreign Ministry building in Muscat, Oman.

Oman has dismissed as “baseless” Israel’s claims that the Persian Gulf sultanate is establishing diplomatic ties with the Tel Aviv regime.

In a statement published on its official Twitter page on Tuesday, the Omani Foreign Ministry reacted to comments by the head of the Mossad intelligence service, who had said a day earlier Israel was renewing ties with Oman.

“The Sultanate is keen to exert all efforts to create favorable diplomatic conditions to restore contacts between all international and regional parties to work towards achieving peace between the Palestinian Authority and … Israel, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” the Omani Foreign Ministry said in the statement.

وان السلطنة حريصة على بذل كل الجهود لتهيئة الظروف الدبلوماسية المواتية لإستعادة الاتصالات بين كل الأطراف الدولية والإقليمية للعمل على تحقيق سلام بين السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية وحكومة دولة إسرائيل بما يؤدي الى قيام دولة فلسطين المستقلة.
— وزارة الخارجية (@MofaOman) July 2, 2019

The Mossad chief, Yossi Cohen, had claimed at the Herzliya Conference on Monday that, “Just recently, renewal of formal relations with Oman was declared and the establishment of a representative office of the foreign ministry in that country.”

“That is only the visible tip of a much broader secret effort,” he added. “We do not yet have with them (Arab states) official peace treaties but there is already a communality of interests, broad cooperation and open channels of communication.”

Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab states that have diplomatic ties with Israel. However, reports have indicated that several of them, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, have had secret relations with Tel Aviv.

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The head of Israel’s spy agency Mossad says a representative office of the Israeli foreign ministry will open in Oman as Tel Aviv and Arab regimes work to normalize ties.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late November last year visited Oman, where he met Sultan Sayyid Qaboos bin Said Al Said at the Bait al-Barakah Royal Palace in the coastal city of Seeb near the capital Muscat.

The Jerusalem Post daily newspaper reported that the two men had discussed ways to advance the so-called Middle East peace process as well as other matters of mutual interest.

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The Israeli premier has made a rare visit to Oman, as regional Arab countries are warming their relations with Tel Aviv amid reports of secret contacts.

The Omani Foreign Ministry announced on June 26 that it will open an embassy in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

The decision was made “in continuation of the sultanate’s support for the Palestinian people,” it said.

“A delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will travel to Ramallah to initiate the opening of the embassy,” the foreign ministry noted, without providing further details.

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