BICOM

An Israeli media report over the weekend claimed that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni attended a closed door meeting last week with various Arab foreign ministers in New York, including those representing countries with which Israel has no diplomatic relations.

Livni was in New York to attend a formal event organised by former US president Bill Clinton and former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. However, the Walla news website claims that Livni then attended a small dinner following the event, which included about 20 people behind closed doors away from the media.

Apparently, the dinner was also attended by Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby and the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, two countries which have signed peace agreements with Israel. However, it was also reportedly attended by foreign ministers from Lebanon, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates, plus senior Saudi official Prince Turki bin Faisal al-Saud. All are countries which do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. However, several are thought to be supporting the current US-led coalition against ISIS.

According to the report, the group discussed regional issues including fighting terrorism and relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Livni’s office did not comment on the report and nor did Israel’s Foreign Ministry. Livni is a former foreign minister and was Israel’s chief negotiator in recent peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. According to a Turkish website, a Kuwaiti foreign ministry official called reports of last week’s meeting “baseless.”

It is thought that many of the Gulf States, which are largely Sunni dominated, share Israel’s concerns over Shi’ite Iran’s nuclear ambitions and military strength. However, Qatar has also become a significant financial supporter of the Hamas authority in the Gaza Strip. Last year, Israel Finance Ministry documents detailing the expenditure of the Foreign Ministry indicated that an Israeli diplomatic mission had been opened in the Persian Gulf between 2010 and 2012. However, the Israeli government would not reveal the identity of the country in question.