Why Did Saudi Arabia and Oman Open Their Airspace to Israeli Planes?

At a time when the Israeli Occupation army was carrying out a series of the most violent massacres since 2002 in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, its government celebrated what it described as “historic” concerning the normalization with Arab countries.

On February 27, 2023, “Israel,” which has killed 84 Palestinians, including 15 children, since 2023, announced that it would operate its first flights to the Far East directly through Saudi and Oman airspace.

 

Arab–Hebrew Atmosphere

In a tweet, the “Israel in Arabic” Twitter account, affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, revealed that “the first flight of El Al Israel Airlines to the Far East took off, passing over Saudi and Omani airspace.”

It added: “This was possible after Oman’s capital, Muscat, announced the opening of its airspace to Israeli civil aviation,” stressing that “the new route shortens the flight time to Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, by two and a half hours.”

The Israeli takeoff comes after the Omani Civil Aviation Authority announced on February 23 that it would open its airspace to all air carriers in the world, including “Israel,” which was quick to welcome the decision.

Saudi authorities announced, on July 15, 2022, the opening of its airspace to “all air carriers that meet the requirements of the authority to cross the airspace,” without excluding Israeli civilian aircraft.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen welcomed the “historic decision of the Sultanate of Oman,” noting that it “will shorten flight time to Asia, reduce costs for Israelis, and help Israeli airlines be more competitive.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had confirmed, after his visit to Oman in 2018, that the country was ready to open its airspace to Israeli aircraft, which was not of great importance, especially for flights to Asia, because they were not allowed to fly over Saudi Arabia.

The move to open the airspace to the Israeli Occupation came as a result of American efforts, as the Israeli Foreign Minister thanked U.S. President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken in reference to this role.

Following the Omani decision to open its airspace for “Israel,” Netanyahu said on February 23 that he would continue working on expanding normalization agreements with Arab countries and that he had chosen a different approach toward the Palestinian cause and the conflict with the Arabs.

He added: “I went directly to the Arab countries and gave a new concept of peace. I have established four historic peace agreements, which is twice the number of peace agreements that Tel Aviv concluded 70 years ago.”

 

Temptations and Maneuvers

On February 23, the same day that the opening of airspace to “Israel” civil aviation companies was announced, Muscat witnessed the first round of strategic dialogue between the Sultanate of Oman and the United States.

A memorandum of understanding was signed with the U.S. Export–Import Bank (EXIM) to provide financial facilities for the establishment of industrial projects, including wireless communication equipment, the fifth generation network, biotechnology, renewable energy, agriculture, and water treatment.

The memorandum also included a preliminary plan to provide loans and guarantees to finance U.S. exports to Oman.

It is remarkable that the U.S. administration relied on economic inducements in order to pass this resolution.

This was clear in the timing of the round of strategic dialogue between Muscat and Washington, which focused mainly on economic cooperation that opened the way for the Omani economy to benefit more from American financing programs.

El Al Israel Airlines revealed that the Omani and Saudi decision will reduce the flight times of Israeli airlines to Asia by up to three hours and “will open more opportunities for airlines to Asia and Australia.”

In return for the Arab rapprochement with “Israel,” the latter was shocked by Saudi Arabia signing an agreement to normalize relations with Iran in China on March 9, 2023.

This weakens Netanyahu’s hopes for full normalization with Saudi Arabia and dispels the idea of launching a regional alliance against Tehran, which the Israeli Occupation promoted under the name of the “Arab–Israeli NATO.”

In recent years, “Israel has invested” in the hostility between Iran and Saudi Arabia to induce the latter to sign a normalization agreement, and with signs of an end to the dispute between Riyadh and Tehran, it is expected that the justifications for normalization will end.

However, in parallel with the Iranian–Saudi agreement, American newspapers indicated that Saudi Arabia still wants to normalize relations with “Israel,” but under new conditions.

The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times revealed, on March 9, that Saudi Arabia had demanded security guarantees and assistance for the development of a civilian nuclear program from the United States in exchange for a normalization deal between the kingdom and “Israel.”

The Wall Street Journal said that the Biden administration is deeply involved in complex negotiations and that the normalization file has not yet been closed.

 

Israeli Target

For his part, the expert on Israeli affairs, Dr. Iyad al-Qara, said: “The obstacle of flying in Arab airspace that was troubling the Israeli Occupation has been removed, and the funny thing is that the timing coincided with Israel reaching the top of its crime against the Palestinian people.”

He added to Al-Estiklal: “Israel reaps the fruits from the Arab countries without making any concessions, even if symbolic, to the Palestinian people. The Israeli Occupation achieved a valuable goal after Oman and Saudi Arabia allowed its planes to pass through their airspace.”

The specialist stressed that “Israel” and the United States have sought for decades to achieve a breakthrough in terms of allowing Israeli planes to cross Arab airspace, as the Israeli Occupation “state” established on the occupied Palestinian lands is located in the heart of the Arab world, and every country must allow “Israel” to use its airspace.

He continued: “Egypt was the first to normalize relations with the Israeli Occupation and allow Israeli airspace to cross, then Jordan, followed by the Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, then Saudi Arabia allowed ‘Israel’ to use its airspace, but this decision was not useful unless the Sultanate of Oman agreed, which is what happened.”

Al-Qara stressed that the Israeli Occupation’s celebration of the achievement is accompanied by a bet that the step of allowing planes to cross the airspace will be a prelude to comprehensive normalization with Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman and other countries, especially since normalization no longer requires easing Zionist criminality against the Palestinians.

The Palestinian writer added: “Although Israel has reached advanced stages with the normalization systems, it has become aware more than ever that it will not penetrate the Arab peoples, and the World Cup in Qatar was one of the vivid examples, to the extent that Israel asked its journalists to leave Doha for fear of their lives.”

In turn, the expert on Israeli affairs, Dr. Mustafa al-Sawaf, said: “The Saudi–Iranian agreement does not mean the end of the Israeli rapprochement with Riyadh, but rather it may postpone normalization until Saudi Arabia obtains important gains, and perhaps in the term of another American president.”

He added to Al-Estiklal: “Riyadh has taken steps toward Israel in recent years, and we have seen media campaigns and changes that pave the way for normalization, especially during the era of U.S. President Donald Trump, and Netanyahu announced on several occasions that the agreement with Saudi Arabia is close.”

Al-Sawaf stressed that the leaks reported by American media about the conditions for establishing Saudi relations with the Israeli Occupation confirm that the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran will not end the chances of normalization between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.

He continued: “It was clear that Saudi Arabia gave the green light to the normalization of the UAE and Bahrain, and until recently, it was the closest to normalization, but it wants to reap a great price for this step and knows the extent of its impact on the Israeli Occupation, so Saudi Arabia asked for great demands such as allowing a peaceful nuclear project.”

 

What is the ‘Reward?

Abdullah al-Kassab, a researcher in Arab affairs, said that the train’s wheels of normalization between “Israel” and Arab countries continue to roll, and what is happening is that the countries want a reward for their signature of this agreement with the Israeli Occupation, so that they benefit from establishing relations, and this reward is not for the Palestinian people, but rather for the regimes.

He added to Al-Estiklal: “All the countries who signed the normalization agreement with Israel got something in return. Morocco gained recognition of its sovereignty over the Sahara region, Sudan was removed from the list of terrorism, and the UAE found a source of weapons and technologies and established a security alliance with the Israeli Occupation, as well as Bahrain.”

The researcher explained that the demands set by Saudi Arabia for normalization have nothing to do with Palestinian people as well, as it requested approval for its establishment of a peaceful nuclear project and security guarantees from America, and this is considered a shift in the Saudi position.

Al-Kassab stressed that the normalization of Saudi Arabia, if it takes place, will be a gateway to a larger wave of normalization, so “Israel” will continue to try to achieve it even after the Saudi–Iranian rapprochement.

He continued: “We remember that Netanyahu started his current government with a central goal: achieving normalization with Saudi Arabia, and therefore it is likely that Israel will make concessions, and if it happens, it will be the biggest gain for Netanyahu in terms of normalization.”

Following the decision to allow Israeli aircraft to cross Oman airspace, Hebrew Channel 12 reported that the Sultanate of Oman pledged to the Palestinian Authority that it would not begin a process of normalization of relations with the Israeli Occupation, and the authority agreed not to condemn the Sultanate’s permission for Israeli aircraft to fly over its airspace.

As for Saudi Arabia, it announced on January 20, 2023, through Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, that it will not normalize relations with “Israel” without the establishment of a Palestinian state.