Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday called the summit of top diplomats from the US, Israel and four Arab countries “historic”. He said that the Jewish nation is building new ones while improving its old ones.
“It’s a very happy day,” Bennett said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. We are hosting the Negev Summit here in Israel. The Foreign Ministers of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Morocco and Bahrain will arrive in De Boker for a meeting with their Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
He stressed, “I would like to tell those who have not paid attention so far that Israel’s relations with other countries are going through a good phase. Israel is an important player on the global and regional stage. We are upgrading our old ties and building new ones.” Last Tuesday, Bennett met with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed at the Sharm el-Sheikh resort in Egypt. He described the meeting as a “decisive moment”.
The Israeli prime minister said, “Our oldest peace agreement with Egypt comes from the latest Abraham Accord. All of us are adding more and more aspects – diplomatic, economic and security etc. to these relations to establish relations with the liberal countries of the Gulf region. I am happy to see that this will continue in the meeting to be held in De Boker.”
The Negev summit is scheduled to be held at Israel’s remote Negev Desert Farm, also known as De Boker and home to the country’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion. This is happening after long and intense diplomatic discussions between these countries after the signing of the Abrahamic Agreement in 2020.
Taking a dig at Iran’s controversial nuclear program, Bennett said, “There is a country in the Gulf region that is creating violence and obstruction. At the same time, there are other countries, which are emphasizing on cooperation, prosperity and peace. He stressed that the Arab world understands that Israel has always followed the path of peace and cooperation.
Bennett said, “While we are discussing peace, there is a country that is not stopping to incite war and attack. The attack by Houthi rebels backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard against Saudi Arabia over the weekend reminds us of this once again.”
The UAE agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 under the US-mediated Abrahamic Agreement. Later, Bahrain and Morocco followed suit, while Sudan agreed to normalize relations with Israel. However, he hasn’t made any compromises as of now.
The agreements, led by then US President Donald Trump, challenge the long-held belief that relations between the Arab world and Israel cannot be established until the Palestinian issue is resolved.
Ahead of the start of the Negev summit, Blinken met with Lapid and Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Sunday. He was also scheduled to visit the city of Ramallah in the West Bank to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. During this, Lapid said, “Iran alone is not a problem for Israel. The whole world cannot tolerate a nuclear-powered Iran. She cannot tolerate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps continuing to spread terror.”
The Israeli foreign minister said Tel Aviv and Washington would continue to work together to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear power. Meanwhile, Blinken praised the Abrahamic Agreement in a meeting with the Israeli president. He said that what is going to happen in the Negev today could not have been imagined until a few years ago.
In addition to Lapid and Blinken, the Negev summit will be attended by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Dr. Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shouqi.