Oman offers help, but rules out any role as mediator

Foreign minister says country still relies on US efforts to promote Middle East peace

Oman is offering ideas to help the Israeli regime and the Palestinians come together, but is not acting as a mediator, Yousuf Bin Alawi, the sultanate’s Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, said yesterday.

Oman relies on the United States and efforts by US President Donald Trump in working towards this “deal of the century” for Middle East peace, Bin Alawi told a security summit in Bahrain a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Oman.

Oman said it’s time to acknowledge Israel’s existence, articulating that outreach a day after a secret meeting between their leaders was divulged.

“I will say this for the first time: Israel is a state that is present in this region and we all know this,” Bin Alawi said. “Maybe it is time for Israel to be treated the same and also bear the same obligations as other countries.” He defended

his position by highlighting the historical presence of Jews in the Middle East, pointing to Islamic texts that attested to that.

“The Torah saw the light in

the Middle East and the prophets of Israel were born in the Middle East,” he said. “We cannot exclude anyone in this region.”