Oman to open embassy in Palestinian territories

MUSCAT: Oman said on Wednesday that it will open an embassy in the Palestinian territories in support of the Palestinian people, in a first for a Gulf Arab state.

The announcement coincided with a US-led economic workshop in Bahrain to unveil a Middle East peace plan which is not expected to recognise an independent Palestinian state.

“In continuation of Oman’s support for the Palestinian people, the Sultanate of Oman has decided to open a diplomatic mission at the level of embassy in the State of Palestine,” the foreign ministry said on Twitter. A delegation from the ministry will travel to Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, to take the necessary measures to open the embassy, it said.

The announcement was cautiously welcomed by a senior Palestinian official. “We think maybe first of all it will help us educate the Omani government as to the real nature of the occupation and also working with Palestine directly,” Hanan Ashrawi told journalists.

But she warned Oman against using the new embassy as a step towards establishing formal relations with Israel. “If this has a political price attached then certainly there will be ramifications,” she said.

Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab countries to have established diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. But Oman was the first Gulf state to receive Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in October 2018. A US ally bordering Saudi Arabia and Yemen, Oman has frequently served as a mediator in the Arab world.