Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Persian Gulf state of Oman on Friday and discussed peace initiatives in the Middle East with Omani leader Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
The rare visit by an Israeli leader to the Arabian Peninsula sultanate, which was not publicized in advance, came days after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas returned from a three-day visit to Muscat, where he also met with bin Said.
A statement by the Prime Minister's Office said Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, were invited to visit Muscat by the sultan following extensive communications between the two countries.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to Oman is the first official meeting at this level since 1996," the statement said. "He and his wife were accompanied by Mossad Director Yossi Cohen, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, Foreign Ministry Director General Yuval Rotem, the prime minister's bureau chief Yoav Horowitz and the prime minister's Military Secretary Brig. Gen. Avi Bluth."
"The two leaders discussed, among other things, ways to advance the peace process in the Middle East as well as several matters of joint interest regarding the achievement of peace and stability in the region," the statement continued.
"The prime minister's visit is a significant step in implementing his policy on deepening relations with the countries in the region while leveraging Israel's advantages in security, technology and economic matters," it said.
A statement by the Omani government described Israel as an "accepted Middle East state."
Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi said his country could offer ideas to help advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. but stressed Muscat is not acting as a mediator in the talks, stalled since 2014.
"Israel is a state present in the region, and we all understand this," bin Alawi told a security summit in Bahrain. "The world is also aware of this fact. Maybe it is time for Israel to be treated the same [as others states] and also bear the same obligations. We are not saying that the road is now easy and paved with flowers, but our priority is to put an end to the conflict and move to a new world," he said.
Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa voiced support for Oman over the sultanate's role in trying to secure Israeli-Palestinian peace, while Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the kingdom believes the key to normalizing relations with Israel was the peace process.
U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt welcomed the "warming ties and growing cooperation between our regional friends," tweeting, "This is a helpful step for our peace efforts and essential to create an atmosphere of stability, security and prosperity between Israelis, Palestinians and their neighbors. Looking forward to seeing more meetings like this!"
Israel and some Gulf states share an interest in curbing Iran's influence in the region.
Oman has long been to the Middle East what neutral Switzerland is to global diplomacy. The sultanate helped to mediate secret U.S.-Iran talks in 2013 that led to the historic nuclear deal signed in Geneva two years later.
Earlier this year, bin Alawi visited Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque and Netanyahu has, on several occasions, hinted at warmer ties with Gulf states.
He told Israel's parliament last week that due to fears of a nuclear threat from Iran, "Israel and other Arab countries are closer than they ever were before."
Though uncommon, Israeli leaders have previously visited the Gulf state.
In 1996, then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres visited the Gulf state and dedicate an Israeli trade representative office there. His predecessor, the late Yitzhak Rabin, made the first trip to Oman in 1994.
