Oman's foreign minister speaks to Israeli counterpart, Palestinian official

Muscat: His Excellency Yousef Bin Alawi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, recieved a call on Monday from the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabi Ashkenazi. During the call, they discussed the latest developments in the region.

Bin Alawi later affirmed Oman's support for achieving comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said, "On the call, His Excellency confirmed the Sultanate's steady position and support for peace and the necessity to resume peace talks. He also spoke of achieving the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as the capital, a position that is consistent with the Arab position."

Bin Alawi also recieved a phone call later from Major General Jibril Rajoub, Secretary General of the Fatah Central Committee, in which the Palestinian official expressed appreciation of Oman's role and its balanced and wise policy towards Arab issues, of which Palestine is at the foremost. Bin Alawi emphasised the depth of Omani-Palestinian relations and highlighted the efforts of the Sultanate towards achieving lasting peace in the Middle East.