Arabic language social networks have been abuzz over the last day following the decision of the authorities in Oman to allow Israeli airlines to pass through its airspace on their way to the Far East. Many users, including the residents of Oman themselves, condemned the Sultanate’s decision, seeing it as a step towards “normalization with Israel”. Following this, the hashtag “#Omanians_against_normalization” flooded the Twitter network and expressed their opposition to the authorities’ decision.
In the meantime, many of the tweeters referred to the security activity in Nablus, in which, according to the reports, about ten terrorists were eliminated and dozens of others were injured. One of the users tweeted that “the occupation carried out a massacre in Nablus, and today Oman allows Israeli planes to pass through it.” The user “Abdullah Fadi”, who lives in the Sultanate, tweeted that “What is this treason? A day after innocents were killed in Nablus, we open the airspace to murderers? This is a country with which we have to comply with international agreements, this is a growing and aggressive entity that violates agreements every day.”
Another user who goes by the name Nasar, and introduces himself as someone who studies Omani history, tweeted that “the Zionist entity is not a state, it is a gang that stole Palestine, killed its people and robbed its territory. They continue their crime by killing children in front of the world. As for As for the Sultanate’s statements, they always ignore it.”
Also, another tweeter with the Palestinian flag next to his name wrote that “Normalization in its various forms is a direct violation of the will of the Omani people, normalization with the Zionist entity will not be forgiven, it is a great crime.” At the same time, it was written that “with great regret, the crossing of Zionist planes over the skies of the Sultanate of Oman is now possible. The majority of the Omani people reject this step, which goes against the values, principles, humanity and the royal order regarding the confiscation of the Zionist entity.”
As mentioned, last night, Oman announced the approval of the passage of flights of Israeli airlines in its airspace. The announcement came after months of talks between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the authorities in Oman. The Omani crisis reads: “In accordance with the provisions of the Chicago Convention of 1944 and in the application of the international requirements of non-discrimination between civil aircraft vis-a-vis all countries of the International Civil Aviation Organization, we confirm that the airspace of the Sultanate of Oman is open to all air vehicles that meet the conditions for passage in the airspace of Oman.” .
An El Al plane (Photo: Yossi Aloni, Flash 90)
The approval given joins the approval of Saudi Arabia and will enable the shortening of flights from Israel to destinations in Asia by more than two hours, thus making Israeli airlines more competitive and significantly reducing ticket prices in Israel.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen: “This is a historic and significant decision for the Israeli economy and for the Israeli traveler. I thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, MLA, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ronan Levy and the dedicated employees of the Ministry who worked for the citizens of Israel and the Israeli economy. Special thanks to our friend the Sultan of Oman and our friends in the United States who accompanied us throughout the whole process.”