Israeli FM claims '6-7' Muslim states to follow Saudi normalization
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The Israeli foreign minister claims that Muslim countries from both Asia and Africa are on course to normalize with "Israel".
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Israeli occupation's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen during a visit to Prague, Czech Republic, on April 4, 2023 (AFP)
A number of Muslim countries will normalize with the Israeli occupation when such a deal is signed with Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told KAN news on Friday.
During his speech at the UNGA earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that "peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia will truly create a new Middle East," and that the US-brokered agreements in 2020 to normalize ties with three other Arab states had already "heralded the dawn of a new age of peace."
Commenting on Netanyahu's remarks, Cohen said: "It's important to restate what the prime minister said, peace with Saudi Arabia is also peace between Jews and the Muslim world."
"Six or seven nations from Africa and Asia will join the peace deal with the Saudis," he claimed, alleging that he has "met with several officials from Muslim nations with which Israel does not share formal ties."
Read more: Normalization possible with Arab regimes, impossible with Arab people
A new PR stunt?
Cohen's statement brought back to mind the PR stunt he pulled last month with regard to "peace talks" with Libya.
In a seemingly deliberate leak to the press, Israeli media revealed then that Cohen and Libya's now-fired Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush held a clandestine meeting in Italy mid of August, to explore possibilities for the normalization of relations between Tripoli and "Tel Aviv".
The announcement triggered mass public outrage in Tripoli of Libyans rejecting normalization attempts with the occupation entity, leading to mass demonstrations during which citizens burnt the Israeli flag and pictures of both al-Mangoush and Cohen.
Tripoli's government also suspended al-Mangoush from her role as foreign minister and opened a probe against her. But the former top diplomat escaped the country with local reports stating that she had fled to Turkey.
Yair Lapid, the head of the Israeli opposition, then expressed his concerns that the meeting was disclosed by the Israeli occupation government.
"The global community is looking this morning at Israel’s irresponsible leak of the Libya foreign ministers meeting," he said, adding that world countries are asking themselves today whether they can conduct foreign relations with the occupation, or if they can trust it.
The news publication is "amateurish, irresponsible, and reflected a serious failure of judgment."
Read more: Criticism of normalization accords lands Moroccan five years in prison
Focused on headlines
Echoing the same sentiment, Political analyst at Walla! news website Barak Ravid echoed Lapid's sentiment, blaming Cohen for the outcome of announcing the meeting.
"Libya is not a country that operates conventionally, but rather it has two governments at best," he said, adding that "Cohen met with the foreign minister of one of these governments and succeeded in causing the problem within days."
Not only was she "removed from her position, but according to reports from Libya, she fled because of the threats she was subjected to," he continued.
"This is related to what we have seen in the past six months, the desire and focus of two hundred percent in the headlines of the media and domestic politics at the expense of Israel's foreign relations," Ravid said.
"Many Arab countries will look at him [Cohen] from now on as a suspicious individual," Ravid concluded.
