Oman's parliament seeks to expand 'criminalization, boycott' of Israel

Rumors and speculation over Oman potentially warming ties with Israel have been shot down, as the Sultanate's Shura Council – equivalent to parliament – on Monday discussed broadening the scope of its boycott law against the Jewish state.

Council Vice-President Yaaqoub Al-Harethi said the amendment, proposed by several Council members, seeks to "expand the criminalization, boycott of this entity" and prohibit all contact with Israelis by any means, in person or virtual.

Monday’s session ended with the proposal referred to the Council's legislative committee.

The move came amid efforts to secure Omani approval for Israeli commercial flights to fly over the Gulf Arab state’s airspace, as well as speculation that the Sultanate could potentially join the Abraham Accords with Israel, following in the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

The Accords were signed two years ago and have been trumpeted by Israel, as they ended the Jewish state’s virtual isolation in the region. Before the landmark normalization deal, only Egypt – in 1979 – and Jordan – in 1994 – signed peace treaties with Israel. But the peace with both countries is a “cold peace,” and it appears that public support for diplomatic relations with Israel is also waning among some of Jerusalem's newly founded partners.

In Bahrain, for example, hundreds of demonstrators have been protesting for weeks against the kingdom's relations with Israel, as well as against the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. And in Morocco, hundreds of protesters took to the streets on Saturday to demonstrate against their country’s normalized relations with Israel.

Thus, two years after the signing of the historic Abraham Accords that saw a number of Arab states normalize ties with Israel, Jerusalem finds itself facing growing challenges in its hopes of further integrating into the region.