Suweimeh (Jordan) – A top Omani government official on Saturday said Arabsmust take initiatives to make Israel overcome “fears for its future” in theregion, drawing criticism from Jordan.
The remarks by Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, the minister responsible forforeign affairs in Oman, came on the sidelines of the World Economic Forumhosted by Jordan on the shores of the Dead Sea.
“The West has offered Israel political, economic and military support andit now holds all the means of power… but despite that it fears for itsfuture as a non-Arab country surrounded by 400 million Arabs,” he said.
“I believe that we Arabs must be able to look into this issue and try toease those fears that Israel has through initiatives and real deals betweenus and Israel,” he told a panel discussing geopolitics.
The panel’s moderator, journalist Hadley Gamble, interrupted him to ask ifthe best solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict is”recognising Israel and its right to exist”.
The minister said no.
“Not recognising, but we want them themselves to feel that there are nothreats to their future.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, whose country is the only Arabnation along with Egypt to have a peace treaty with Israel, dismissed theremarks saying “the issue is that there is an occupation” of Arab land.
“The Arab world has recognised Israel’s right to exist. The Palestiniansthemselves recognised the Israeli right to exist… that is not the issue,”Safadi told the panel.
“The issue is that there is an occupation. Is this occupation going to endor not?
Israel, Safadi said, must “withdraw from Arab lands occupied since 1967 andallow” the creation of a Palestinian state. “This is the issue,” he said.
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“If they (Israel) say they are not comfortable, that is not my problem,”said Safadi.
“The problem is not with Arabs giving assurances… the problem is withIsrael doing what is right for peace,” he added.
“Israel… is not doing the right thing. Actually it is doing more of thewrong things by suffocating Palestinians,” the Jordanian foreign ministersaid, referring to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.
“Gaza, is probably as you heard many times, the world’s largest prison,” headded.
In recent months, Israel has been courting Gulf Arab states.
In February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met one-on-one withBin Alawi at an international conference in Warsaw, attended by officialsfrom Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
In October last year, Netanyahu held surprise talks with Oman’s SultanQaboos in Muscat — raising Palestinian fears of a normalisation of ties.
Last year Bin Alawi told a regional conference in Bahrain it might be “timefor Israel to be treated the same (as states in the Middle East) and alsobear the same obligations”.
Bahrain endorsed the remarks which at the time were said to be aimed atmoving the Israeli-Palestinian “narrative from intractability to a newfocus of pragmatism”. – APP/AFP
