The foreign ministers of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Egypt landed in Israel on Sunday night ahead of a landmark regional summit in the southern Negev desert, where they were joined by their Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived at Kibbutz Sde Boker later that evening for the summit after landing in Israel on Saturday night.
Throughout Sunday, Blinken held meetings with Foreign Secretary Yair Lapid, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, President Isaac Herzog, Defense Secretary Benny Gantz and other senior Israeli officials before traveling to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas .
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani of Bahrain, Nasser Bourita of Morocco and Sameh Shoukry of Egypt all landed at Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel.
Shoukry, whose country was the first to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1979, joins the three Arab countries that signed the US-brokered normalization accords known as the Abraham Accords in 2020.
Get the daily Times of Israel by email and never miss our headlines again
By registering you agree to the terms
From the air base, the senior diplomats walked to the Isrotel Kedma Hotel in Sde Boker, where they were greeted by Lapid – the host of the two-day event.
An official close to Lapid told journalists that the top Israeli diplomat and Arab dignitaries were discussing “promoting a regional security architecture.”
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (L) greets his Egyptian counterpart Minister Sameh Shoukri in Sde Boker, southern Israel, March 27, 2022 ahead of the Negev summit. (Jack Guez/AFP)
The alliance will address threats from “air, sea and piracy,” the official said at a briefing.
The official added that meetings so far have been “very cordial, including hugs and friendly talk.”
The high-ranking diplomats were to dine together at the hotel upon Blinken’s arrival.
Ahead of their arrival, public broadcaster Kan reported that Israel had increased its defense preparedness in the south of the country amid concerns about aerial threats during the summit, with the Israeli Air Force blasting several planes as diplomats touched down.
Although the report did not specify the nature of the threats, the use of planes could indicate concerns about a possible drone attack that could be intercepted by the planes.
Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, lived in Sde Boker and he and his wife Paula are buried there, overlooking the Zin wilderness. Lapid would like to take his guests to visit the tomb, Kan reported, although this has not been confirmed as part of the itinerary.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (L) greets his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani at Sde Boker in southern Israel March 27, 2022 ahead of the Negev Summit. (Jack Guez/AFP)
The official said a visit would take place but did not specify whether all visiting Arab ministers will attend.
According to official statements, the focus of the summit will be on regional threats, challenges and opportunities. Among the topics expected to be the focus of the meetings are the nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The summit is also seen as an expression of diplomatic unity for Tehran.
On Monday, the foreign ministers will hold bilateral working meetings followed by press statements.
Channel 12 News reported on Sunday that Blinken said in his meetings with Israeli leaders that US President Joe Biden has still not decided whether to delist the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as part of a return to the Iran nuclear deal of foreign terrorist organizations should be removed. According to the network, Blinken emphasized that the United States would not return to the nuclear deal at any cost.
The report said Blinken has also asked Israel to increase its support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, including by considering providing military assistance.
Israel has so far only provided humanitarian aid to Kyiv as the Jewish state tries to walk a tightrope to maintain good relations with both Ukraine and Russia.
The meeting was a “clumsily managed initiative,” a diplomatic source with knowledge of the preparations for the summit told The Times of Israel. “Of course the secretary [Blinken] Being in Israel was the trigger.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) walks alongside Secretary of State Yair Lapid after a joint news conference at the State Department in Jerusalem March 27, 2022. (Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
According to a Channel 13 report on Saturday, the region’s diplomats are expected to beg the US to project strength on Iran, both on the nuclear front and in its regional expansion and destabilization actions.
The report also said, without naming a source, that while Saudi Arabia is not publicly attending the conference — Riyadh has secret ties to Jerusalem but no open ties — it is heavily involved behind the scenes, as are the issues discussed represent the interests of the kingdom.
Israel has made strengthening the Abraham Accords a top priority and has scheduled regular diplomatic meetings with participating countries. Initial desires to finalize the normalization agreement between Israel and Sudan have been complicated by the military coup that pushed the latter country further into crisis late last year.
The foreign ministers’ meeting comes less than a week after Bennett attended the first trilateral summit with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al, in the Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh Traveled was Nahyan – another development that followed the signing of the Abraham Accords.
You are an engaged reader
That’s why we launched the Times of Israel ten years ago, to provide discerning readers like you with essential coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news agencies, we have not set up a paywall. However, as the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers who have found The Times of Israel important to support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For just $6 a month, you can support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREEas well as access exclusive content only available to members of the Times of Israel Community.
Thanks,
David Horovitz, founding editor of the Times of Israel
Join our community Join our community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this