Netanyahu thanks Egypt, Oman, Bahrain for supporting UAE normalisation deal

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed gratitude towards Egypt, Oman and Bahrain for welcoming the Israeli-UAE normalisation agreement.
2 min read
The Israeli press said Bahrain, Oman or Sudan could next normalise ties with Israel [Getty]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday thanked the leaders of Egypt, Oman and Bahrain for their "support" of the agreement to normalise ties with the UAE.

While Israeli newspapers overwhelmingly welcomed the accord, Palestinian media condemned the "triple aggression against Palestinian rights", referring to the Jewish state, the Emirates and the deal's broker, the United States.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, protesters set ablaze posters of the leaders of the three countries. 

Netanyahu, for his part, thanked Arab supporters of the normalisation.

"I thank Egyptian President al-Sisi, and the governments of Oman and Bahrain, for their support of the historic peace treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which is expanding the circle of peace and will be good for the entire region," Netanyahu tweeted.

Israel has two official peace treaties with Arab states - Egypt, since 1979, and Jordan, signed in 1994.

The US administration launched a peace plan for the Middle East in January that would see the normalisation of relations between Israel and Arab states of the Gulf.

The Israeli press said Bahrain or Oman but also Sudan could be next.

During a February visit to Uganda, Netanyahu met with Sudan's leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, saying they had "agreed to start cooperation leading to normalisation" between their countries.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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