Jerusalem24 – On Sunday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will hold a “historic” meeting with his counterparts from the Arab countries that normalized relations with Tel Aviv, as part of a tour of the Middle East and North Africa.
After arriving in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, Blinken will meet on Sunday afternoon with the foreign ministers of Israel, Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates in the Negev on Sunday and Monday.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are the first two Gulf states that normalized their relations with Israel in September 2020 within the framework of the Abraham Agreements brokered by the United States, followed by Morocco and Sudan.
These agreements put an end to decades of Arab consensus to rule out any peace with Israel in the absence of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians denounced it as a “stab in the back”.
Blinken came from Poland, where he accompanied US President Joe Biden and will stay until Monday in Tel Aviv, where he will meet Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. He will also visit Ramallah to hold a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israeli Minister of the Environment, Tamara Zandberg, did slam the refusal to speak with the Palestinians against the backdrop of the Negev Summit.
In statements given to to the Israeli Army Radio she said that while there is an agreement not to move forward with any dialogue with the Palestinians, it is important to speak to the Palestinians. She also said that, “If it is possible to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and if it is possible to host such a summit, then it is possible to at least talk to the Palestinians.”
