Oman FM welcomes vote to further criminalise Israel ties

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, Badr Bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, has welcomed the parliament’s vote in favour of amending Article 1 of the Royal Decree to further expand banning relations with the occupation state of Israel.

He described the vote as “an embodiment of the aspirations of the Omani people and other regional countries to reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause, in accordance with international standards and the Arab Peace Initiative.”

On Monday, the Omani Consultative Assembly (Parliament) referred the draft amendment to Article 1 to the Legislative and Legal Committee for an opinion before putting it to vote.

The Deputy Chairman of the Omani Consultative Assembly, Yaqoob Al-Harthi, said during the session that the proposed amendment “expands the scope of the boycott stipulated in Article 1,” noting that the proposed amendment includes a ban on any sports, cultural and economic contact between Oman and Israel, as well as the criminalisation of interacting with Israelis in person and online.

Under its current form, Article 1 of the Royal Decree bans “interaction with the Zionist entity for private and public figures”.

The amendment was proposed by seven lawmakers.

There are no formal diplomatic relations between Oman and Israel, although the Gulf state has been proposed as a possible country to join the Abraham Accords, after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, thus normalising ties with the occupation.

In 2018, then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who returned to office yesterday, visited Oman.

READ: Israel silent after Oman votes to expand boycott of occupation state