Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly with Oman’s foreign minister in February helping lay the foundations for his visit to the Gulf sultanate last month Israeli television reported Friday.
According to Channel 10 news Netanyahu’s meeting with Yusuf bin Alawi was held on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference a major gathering of top political and defense leaders from across the world.
The meeting was put together by Mossad head Yossi Cohen who played the lead role in the contacts between Israel and Oman the report said.
The report which cited an unnamed senior Israeli official said Netanyahu and bin Alawi discussed Iran and advancing ties between the countries.
Following the meeting in Oman bin Alawi urged other Middle East states to accept Israel and said the country would help promote peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.
Speaking at the same conference Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa expressed backing for Oman’s efforts to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said peace talks would help normalize diplomatic ties between Israel and the Arab world according to Reuters.
