The discussion held today in the Shura Council of Oman regarding the boycott law against Israel did not include news of a rapprochement between the two countries as many analysts were expecting, rather they shattered any hopes of a rapprochement between the small Gulf State and Isreal.
According to the report in the WAF news agency from Muscat, the proposal that came up to amend Section 1 of the Boycott Law, includes its expansion and the increase of criminal charges and the enforcement of them against anyone who violates the boycott and works with Israel.
The news cites the vice president of the Shura Council, who described that the proposal expands the current ban on contact with the "Zionist entity" to include any economic, sporting, cultural, or commercial relationship. Contact with Israeli entities will be prohibited not only physically, but also online according to the proposal, and will apply to individuals as well as legal entities. The discussion on the topic was transferred to the legislative affairs committee, before approval or rejection of the proposal.
The new boycott amendment is a step backward for the peace process between Oman and Israel, which was thought to be well on its way to signing an agreement along with Saudi Arabia. It is likely that Iranian pressure along with Qatari funding persuaded the Arab kingdom not to continue with its growing friendly rhetoric towards Israel.
Following the session, the Shura Council decided to refer the proposal to the Legislative and Legal Committee. The proposed amendment would broaden the boycott law, prohibiting all contact of any kind with Israelis, including virtually.
ā Ariel Oseran (@ariel_oseran) December 26, 2022
Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Oman, but prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited it with his wife in October 2018, a visit that became public only after the Israeli delegation, including Mossad head Yossi Cohen, flew back to Israel from there. It was the first visit since 1994, when the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin visited Muscat, however, the open relations were severed about two years later.
Netanyahu's invitation about five years ago was held by Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who passed away a little over a year later, at the beginning of 2020. His cousin Haitham bin Tarik al-Said, who is thought to be a supporter of the Islamic Republic of Iran was appointed in his place.
Amid normalization talk, why has #Oman decided to expand laws boycotting #Israel?@marwamaziad says she believes that Gulf countries are not happy with #Netanyahu's constant insistence of normalization over the past few weeks #MiddleEastNow | @JacobEilon pic.twitter.com/IIOIamLsVX
ā i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) December 26, 2022
Israeli officials have stated in the past that Oman is one of the natural candidates to join the Abraham Accords, but it seems that the proposed amendment to the law that came up Tuesday does not bode well for the matter. After Bahrain's accession at the time to the normalization agreements with Israel, an official Omani announcement was published stating "the Sultanate hopes that this new strategic path taken by several Arab countries will contribute to achieving peace based on the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and the establishment of an independent state with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine."
The current Israeli hope was that even if they did not sign a normalization agreement in the near future, Oman would allow flights of Israeli companies to fly in its skies in order to shorten the routes to the Far East, like the approval given by Saudi Arabia. However, in the absence of the delayed Omani approval along with the current amendment, the shortening of the routes to the east is still not in sight.
