An unprecedented six-party meeting, including the foreign ministers of Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, was launched in the Negev city in southern Israel, as well as the Israeli and American foreign ministers.
The office of Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said, in a statement seen by The Eastern Herald : Six foreign ministers are participating in the historic meeting, which will last for two days in the Negev desert, far south of Israel.
On Sunday, the foreign ministers of the participating Arab countries arrived in the Negev, while US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived on Saturday, according to a statement by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
The statement indicated that Lapid held separate bilateral talks on Sunday evening with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdel Latif Al-Zayani, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
The ministers will meet for dinner later on Sunday, and issue statements on Monday, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry .
Earlier on Sunday, a shooting attack took place in the northern city of Hadera, killing two Israelis and wounding three others, while the police killed two people who it says carried out the attack.
The police did not give information about the identity of the perpetrators of the attack or their motives, but security estimates indicate that they are “Palestinians living in Israel,” according to the “Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper (privately).
The six foreign ministers condemned the attack, according to a statement by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
Of the 22 Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan are bound by two peace treaties with Israel since 1979 and 1994, respectively.
While the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco signed, in 2020, agreements to normalize relations with Israel , under US auspices, and Sudan joined them in 2021.
