Oman and Israel Are Talking of Normalizing

 Nadene Goldfoot                                          

 Sultan Haitham bin Tariq  of Oman with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, February 2020.

Oman, a small country of about 2,577,000 population as of 2011, almost part of Saudi Arabia, are talking with Israel.

  Their foreign minister, Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi, just wants peace with Israel.  They have not been enemies other than all Muslim States have been against Israel up to recent days with the Abraham Accords.  The Abraham Accords are a series of joint normalization statements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, effective since September 15, 2020.                                             

Jordan and Egypt are also at peace with Israel.  

                                                                                                  

Left;  PM Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Donald Trump of USA, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of UAE and Abdullatif bin Rashin Al Zayani of Bahrain.

 Here they are on the White House’s South Lawn – the same spot where Bill Clinton famously stood in 1993 as the then Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and PLO chairman, Yasser Arafat, shook hands.

 Mediated by the United States, the initial announcement of August 13, 2020, concerned only Israel and the United Arab Emirates  (UAE) before the announcement of a follow-up agreement between Israel and Bahrain on September 11, 2020. On September 15, 2020, the official signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords was hosted by the United States at the White House. As part of the dual agreements, both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recognized Israel's sovereignty, enabling the establishment of full diplomatic relations.

Nearly one year ago on September 15, 2020, the United States, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain signed the historic Abraham Accords. With this accomplishment, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain charted a new course in the history of Arab-Israeli relations by recognizing the State of Israel and normalizing diplomatic relations. 

Later that year, two other Arab nations, Sudan and Morocco, followed suit and joined the Abraham Accords, raising the number of Arab States with formal diplomatic ties to Israel from two to six. Yesterday with the new coalition government in Israel led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, there are new political realities at play.  Now Netanyahu is at the helm.  He will no doubt continue what Jerad Kushner and his father-in-law, President Donald Trump, initiated.  

 Oman shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, while sharing maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by the United Arab Emirates on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz (which it shares with Iran) and the Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries. Muscat is the nation's capital and largest city. 

I would think their position would be very interesting to Israel, who already are members of the Abrahamic Accords with the UAE.  We have heard that Saudi Arabia is also finding interests with Israel quite possible and are dealing in certain areas with them.   

  They are not into the Abrahamic Accords as yet, just speaking of normalizing relations.  It was announced today on i24 News.  In 2011,, 93% of the people were Muslims  of the Kharijite persuasion.  Islam is a state religion there.  They had a large military power of 41,700.  Oman is playing down the talks with their foreign minister while Israel might be more hopeful about it.  A small step towards peace is always good.  Like the others, the Palestinians are #1 on the agenda with Israel.  

Resource: 

https://www.i24news.tv/en/tags/oman

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/1613063933-oman-plays-down-israel-normalization-move-says-content-with-current-relationship

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oman

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/abraham-accords-one-year-later-assessing-impact-and-what-lies-ahead