Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that it would be a grave error “to go back to business as usual with Iran,” in what was perhaps a not so tacit message to President-elect Joe Biden. The Israeli premier made his comments during a press conference alongside US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, who was visiting the Jewish state.
“As long as Iran continues to subjugate and threaten its neighbors, as long as Iran continues calling for Israel’s destruction, as long as Iran continues to bankroll, equip and train terrorist organizations… and as long as Iran persists in its dangerous quest for nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them… we should all unite to prevent this major threat to world peace,” Netanyahu affirmed.
The prime minister fought tooth and nail against the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal, spearheaded by the Obama Administration and which Biden, who was at the time vice president, has vowed to re-enter if Tehran recommits to complying with its stipulations.
President Donald Trump in 2018 withdrew the United States from the agreement and re-imposed economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic, a move widely hailed by Israeli officialdom.
O’Brien arrived in Jerusalem just days after Washington announced that Israel and Morocco would establish full diplomatic relations, in the fourth such deal between the Jewish state and an Arab country in as many months.
He emphasized that the Trump Administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign targeting Tehran had been successful and that the series of accords between Israel and regional nations would cement what he called “the legacies of peacemakers.”
According to Israeli sources, Oman and Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, could within weeks forge diplomatic ties with Jerusalem under the umbrella of the US-mediated Abraham Accords. The White House is reportedly feverishly attempting to get as many states as possible on board the peace train prior to President Trump leaving office.
To date, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco have agreed to normalization with Israel. Over the weekend, Bhutan also followed suit, albeit outside of the framework of the accords.
US Vice President Mike Pence is slated to visit the Jewish state in January and is widely expected to announce additional pacts.
Adding to the anticipation were comments made by US National Security adviser Robert O’Brien, who during his recent trip to Israel made clear that “the momentum is now on the side of the peacemakers… because the way of peace is far better than the way offered by terrorists… and radical clerics.
“Peace deals are becoming a regular event,” he quipped.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018 made an unannounced public visit to Oman, where he met with its then-leader, the late Sultan Qaboos. Israel had unofficial trade relations with Muscat from 1994-2000, when the Second Palestinian Intifada broke out. However, the countries have continued coordinating their efforts to counter Iranian expansionism in the Middle East.
Similarly, Israel and Indonesia do not have formal ties but cooperate in trade and tourism. In 1993, former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin met Indonesian president Suharto in Jakarta.
According to media reports, Turkey has after two years chosen a new ambassador to Israel to fill the vacant post. The candidate, Ufuk Ulutas, previously studied at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a supporter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose Islamist government over the past decade has torpedoed relations with the Jewish state while harboring members and supporting the leadership of the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
Ulutas currently serves as chairman for the Center for Strategic Research at the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
The move comes as tensions between Israel and Turkey remain high, including over the latter’s aggressive actions due to a dispute regarding rights to natural gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Accordingly, Turkey’s apparent decision is being construed as an olive branch aimed at gaining favor with incoming US leader Joe Biden. The president-elect has in the past referred to Erdogan as an “autocrat” and implied that Ankara had facilitated the rise of the Islamic State terror group by allowing foreign fighters to freely cross the border into Syria. Notably, Erdogan was the last leader of a NATO ally to acknowledge Biden’s November election victory.
It was not immediately clear if Israel had agreed to return the favor and send an ambassador back to Turkey.
Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization have reportedly made progress in negotiations over a prisoner swap deal. The Gaza Strip’s rulers are holding captive two Israeli citizens, Avera Avraham Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, as well as the remains of Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, who were killed in the Palestinian enclave during the 2014 war.
The reported breakthrough in the talks is being attributed to the spread of COVID-19 in Gaza.
Lea and Simcha Goldin, the parents of Hadar, on Sunday praised the “humanitarian deal with Gaza in the fight against coronavirus, under which Hadar and Oron will return home.”
Negotiations over a possible deal have been going on for months, with primarily Egyptian officials mediating between the sides.
Health Ministry officials announced that Israelis who are inoculated against the coronavirus would receive a “green passport” to exempt them from COVID-19-related governmental restrictions.
Among the freedoms that would be granted to holders of the document include access to cultural events, permission to dine at restaurants, and the option of not needing to quarantine after exposure to a diagnosed virus carrier. The waiver will also enable Israelis to fly aboard without having to get tested for the pathogen, as is currently mandated.
The passports will be issued two weeks after a person gets the second of two required vaccination shots.
The news comes as Israel is preparing to begin a mass inoculation program, possibly as early as next week. Jerusalem has purchased eight million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, with the first batch having landed last week at Ben Gurion Airport.
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