Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is pushing Arab countries to follow the lead of the United Arab Emirates and work toward establishing formal ties with Israel.
Pompeo made the request as part of a U.S. diplomatic effort to forge relationships among old enemies in order to go up against their common rival, Iran, The Wall Street Journal reports.
“I am very hopeful we will see other Arab nations join in this…to recognize the state of Israel and to work alongside them will not only increase Middle East stability but improve the lives for the people of their own countries as well,” Pompeo said in Jerusalem.
Pompeo spoke Monday alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pompeo’s speech comes weeks after the U.A.E. became the first Gulf Arab state to say it would normalize diplomatic relations with Israel.
Pompeo will visit the U.A.E., Bahrain and Sudan during his five-day trip to the Middle East. As part of the effort to encourage the countries to follow the U.A.E, President Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Israel, the U.A.E., Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain next week.
The Journal reports that U.S. officials say they hope to announce at least one more deal between Israel and an Arab country in the coming weeks.
The agreement between Israel and the U.A.E. drew mixed reviews among Arab states. Iran and Turkey ripped the deal as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. A foreign ministry spokesman in Sudan was fired for raising the possibility of creating diplomatic relations with Israel, according to state news agency SUNA.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the kingdom would only consider normalizing relations after an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is established during a press conference in Berlin with his German counterpart.
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