Oman welcomes Morocco, Israel normalization as step towards regional peace
Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalize relations in a deal brokered with US help, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel.
By REUTERSUpdated: DECEMBER 11, 2020 14:31View of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, on May 2, 2018. (photo credit: YOSSI ZAMIR/FLASH90)
Oman welcomed Morocco's announcement that it was establishing diplomatic ties with Israel and hoped the move would strengthen efforts towards a lasting and just peace in the Middle East, its foreign ministry said on Friday.Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalize relations in a deal brokered with US help, making Morocco the fourth Arab country after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.In a departure from longstanding US policy, President Donald Trump agreed as part of the deal to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara."(Oman) welcomes what Morocco's King Mohammed VI announced in his phone calls with US President Trump and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and hopes this will further endeavors to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East," the statement said, without specifically mentioning what had been announced.In a turbulent region, Oman has maintained its neutrality.US and Israeli officials have previously suggested that Oman could be another possible candidate for normalization. Muscat has not commented on its own prospects for normalized relations.In 2018 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Oman and discussed peace initiatives in the Middle East with then-Omani leader Sultan Qaboos.A senior Iranian official, however, said Morocco's normalization of relations with Israel was a betrayal and a stab in the back of the Palestinians.The Palestinians view the normalization as a setback to their aspirations for an independent state free of Israeli occupation
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