Find Shimon Sherman’s article quoting Avi Melamed “Oman still on the fence regarding normalization with Israel”, Originally published in Cleveland-Jewish-News | February, 27 2023.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
“Oman tries to talk to everyone, whether it’s the Iranians or the Saudis or the United States, but they never really want to commit to one side,” said Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence officer, […] The sultanate is like a “middle eastern United Nations.”
“Their opening of airspace by no means indicates that peace is around the corner. They’re likely more in the Saudi camp than the Iranian one, but they’re still playing all the sides,” […]
Oman’s announcement last week that it will allow Israeli civilian flights to traverse its airspace has been hailed as a step towards the sultanate joining the Abraham Accords, but experts JNS spoke with sounded a note of caution.
Oman’s Civil Aviation Authority announcement on Thursday that “the Sultanate’s airspace is open for all carriers that meet the requirements of the Authority for overflying” did not mention Israel by name, yet this new policy was broadly seen as a step in strengthening diplomatic ties between Muscat and Jerusalem. The development comes on the tail of a similar decision by Saudi Arabia, which opened its airspace to Israeli flights last July, right before U.S. President Joe Biden visited the country.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen called the move by Oman a “historic decision” on Thursday. “Special thanks to our friend, the Sultan of Oman, and our friends in the United States who supported us throughout the entire process,” he added […]
Expanding the Abraham Accords
Israel’s new government has clearly set expansion of the Abraham Accords as one of its central policy goals. The Foreign Ministry has actively been pursuing normalization with multiple Arab countries, including Sudan and, most importantly, Saudi Arabia. (Netanyahu said in a statement last week that normalization of relations with the Saudis would constitute a “quantum leap” towards broader Middle East peace.)
According to Inbar, Oman’s decision was a harbinger of better things to come.
The move, he said, was a “clear extension of the Abraham Accords, and was likely done with Saudi support.” He further noted that “with this development, Oman showed that they are not afraid of Iran and are willing to move towards Israel.”
However, not everyone agrees. […]
Find Shimon Sherman’s article quoting Avi Melamed “Oman still on the fence regarding normalization with Israel”, Originally published in Cleveland-Jewish-News | February, 27 2023.
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Avi Melamed is a former Israeli intelligence official who went on to serve as deputy and then as senior Arab affairs adviser to Jerusalem Mayors Teddy Kollek and Ehud Olmert, operating as a negotiator during the first and second intifadas. He is the author of “Inside The Middle East | Entering A New Era,” and his latest docuseries, “The Seam Line,” available on the IZZY streaming platform, focuses on Jerusalem’s flashpoints and his work during the intifadas.
Follow me on Twitter @AviMelamed; Facebook @InsideTheMiddleEast; for more Videos on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/AviMelamed
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