Omani FM Carries Letter for Abbas From Sultan Qaboos

Oman sought to make diplomatic amends with the Palestinians on Wednesday, after hosting Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Muscat last week.

Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, bearing a letter from Omani leader Sultan Qaboos bin Said, ostensibly to explain the Israeli leader’s visit.

The contents of the missive were not disclosed.

“Bin Alawi handed [Abbas] a letter from his brother Sultan Qaboos bin Said regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the Sultanate of Oman,” a Palestinian Wafa report said, without elaborating.

Senior Palestinian officials have refrained from comment on Netanyahu’s visit to Oman, the first by an Israeli prime minister in more than 20 years.

“We are refraining from commenting on Netanyahu’s visit because we do not want to start fights with our Omani brothers,” a Palestine Liberation Organization official, who asked to remain unnamed, said in a phone call with The Times of Israel on Monday. “We don’t believe that is in our interest.”

On Sunday, Abbas received Omani envoy Salim bin Habib al-Amiri in Ramallah, who also gave him a letter from Qaboos, Wafa reported.

In the letter, Qaboos thanked Abbas for visiting Oman last week, the Wafa report said.