Israel foreign ministry director revealed as Abraham Accords architect: reports

The new director of Israel's foreign ministry played a key role in orchestrating a deal to normalise ties with Arab states, according to reports, a move that was widely condemned in the Arab world.

Ronen Levi was one of several ministry directors appointed during a cabinet meeting Sunday, Haaretz reported.

Levi was formerly a head of the Division for Special Relations at the National Security Council (NSC), where he helped put together the Abraham Accords, the Israeli daily said.

Four Arab states - Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the UAE - signed the accords, which were brokered by the administration of US President Donald Trump in 2020.

The signings were met with outrage by Palestinians, who said the move was a betrayal of their cause.

In the years before the accords, Levi helped improve Israel's relations with Sudan through a number of secret visits to the country to meet with the country's leadership, Israel Hayom reported.

Levi is 48 years old and has held roles in Israeli intelligence and security for almost 30 years, the daily said.

His appointment comes amid intense international scrutiny of Israel's new far-right government, which came to power at the end of December.

Ministers appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu include Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom have called for repression of Palestinians.