DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — It was a scene unthinkable just weeks ago: an Israeli Cabinet minister, tears of joy filling her eyes, proudly singing her country’s national anthem at a sports event in the heart of the Arab world.
The spectacle of Miri Regev singing “HaTikva,” which describes the Jewish yearning for a homeland in Zion, was just one in a series of taboo-busting public appearances by Israeli officials in Gulf Arab states that have thrust the once-secret back channels of outreach into public view.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for years boasted about warming ties with key Arab states that have no diplomatic relations with Israel. But those ties — still largely unpopular among the Arab public — were rarely visible.
That changed on Friday, when Netanyahu made an unannounced visit to Oman, where he met longtime ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said. It marked the first visit by an Israeli leader in more than 20 years to the tiny Gulf state, a U.S. ally that has in the past facilitated negotiations between the United States and Iran.
“These were important talks, both for the state of Israel and very important talks for Israel’s security,” Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday. “There will be more.”
As he spoke, Regev was in the United Arab Emirates with an Israeli delegation at a judo tournament — the scene of her happy tears after Israeli judoka Sagi Muki won the gold medal — and Netanyahu’s communications minister was headed to the UAE for a security conference.
Israel’s transportation minister, Yisrael Katz, is scheduled to head to Oman next week for a transportation conference where he plans on presenting his plan for a rail link between Gulf Arab countries and Israel.
The driving force in these visits seems to be a shared concern over Iran. Israel and many of the Gulf Arab states consider Iran a destabilizing force, meddling in conflicts and supporting rivals across the region. Oman, which borders Saudi Arabia and lies at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, has often played the role of regional mediator.
It also provides an opportunity for these Arab countries to curry favor in Washington. President Donald Trump has promised to present a plan for the “Deal of the Century” for Mideast peace, and Saudi Arabia’s dependability as an influential conduit has been thrown into question amid the fallout from the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate.
