Netanyahu sits beside Yemen foreign minister at Warsaw summit

It was a historic moment for the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations

Netanyahu sits beside Yemen foreign minister at Warsaw summit in historic moment for both countries, February 14, 2019 (GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat next to Yemen’s Foreign Minister Khaled Alyemany at the start of the formal talks at Thursday's session of the Warsaw summit on the Middle East.
It was a historic moment for the two countries, which do not have formal diplomatic ties. Just one day earlier, Netanyahu met with the Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.
US special envoy Jason Greenblatt tweeted: “A lighthearted moment- @netanyahu microphone was not working so FM of Yemen loaned him his microphone. @Netenyahu joked about the new cooperation between Israel and Yemen. Step by step.”

He added that during the meeting, Netanyahu “described the medical care given by Israel to thousands of Syrians who suffered from the tragic civil war in Syria. A great example of what Israel does to help the region. Imagine what can be accomplished if regional peace is achieved.”
Both Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have stressed that a new era cooperation is opening up in the Middle East between Israel and its neighboring Arab countries, particularly when it comes to confronting Iran.
“The US seeks a new era of cooperation between all of our countries on how to confront these issues,” Pompeo said at the start of the meeting.
Netanyahu was given a prominent place, two seats away from Pompeo, at the head of the gathering of representatives of some 60 nations including Saudi Arabia.
After the media left, US special envoy Jared Kushner reportedly spoke about US President Donald Trump’s peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestinian representatives chose to boycott the meeting.