BICOM

The director-general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Rafi Barak, is today scheduled to participate in a live Twitter chat with Israel’s virtual embassy to Persian Gulf states.

Israel launched the Twitter account as a ‘virtual’ embassy last month, with the aim of “promoting dialogue with the people of the GCC region.” The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. Israel has no official representation in these countries, although Israel did operate diplomatic missions in Qatar and Oman until both were closed in the wake of Operation Cast Lead in 2008 to 2009, during which Israel entered the Gaza Strip in an effort to quell rocket fire on Israeli civilians. However, in May 2010, Israel’s then trade minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer attended an international economic conference in Qatar.

Earlier this year, 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 government would not reveal the identity of the country in question.

Today’s Twitter chat represents the highest level of public communication between an Israeli diplomat and the Gulf States for several years. Barak, who is not known for often giving interviews, will conduct the conversation in both English and Arabic at 8pm local time. The Twitter account currently has in excess of one thousand followers. The Foreign Ministry also operates a popular Facebook page in Arabic.

It is thought that many of the Gulf States, which are largely Sunni dominated, share Israel’s concerns over Shi’ite Iran’s military and particularly nuclear ambitions. However, Qatar has also become a significant financial supporter of the Hamas authority in the Gaza Strip.