Ties with Israel depend on national, Palestinian interests: FM Jilani

ISLAMABAD (NNI): Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani maintained that Pakistan’s decision regarding establishing relations with Israel would be determined with consideration of both Pakistan’s national interests and those of the Palestinian people.

The statement came in response to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s remarks regarding normalisation of Israel’s relations with the Muslim world.

Cohen, as reported by Israeli media outlet Kan News, suggested that “six or seven” Islamic nations were likely to normalise ties with Israel, following Saudi Arabia’s potential inclusion in the Abraham Accords, which already involved the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.

The Israeli minister also claimed to have met with leaders from several Muslim countries who have not recognised Israel yet.

Jalil, in response to the Israeli FM’s assertion, clarified that Cohen has not met with any Pakistani official in recent times.

In 2005, during the tenure of former president General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s then-foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri met with his then-counterpart Silvan Shalom in Turkey, Istanbul.

This was the first meeting that took place publicly and was a result of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts. However, no such meetings at the level of foreign ministers or higher have been reported in the media since then.

A senior Pakistani diplomat, on the condition of anonymity, hoped that Pakistan would not have to make a decision on this matter in the near future.

In his address at the 78th United Nations General Assembly this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said peace with Saudi Arabia means peace between the Muslim world and Jews.

Netanyahu also claimed Israel is “on the cusp” of normalising ties with Saudi Arabia while holding maps showing the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan Heights as part of Israel.

His statement has since sparked a new debate about which Muslim countries, after the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, will establish relations with Israel.

It should be noted that Cohen has claimed that six or seven Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, will soon recognise Israel. However, he did not mention the names of those seven countries due to the situation in Libya, international affairs experts believe.

A significant diplomatic issue with Libya was sparked less than a month ago by Cohen, whose office disclosed that then-former foreign minister of Libya, Najla Mangoush, had met with him in Rome.

Mangoush was fired as a result of the discovery, which also caused widespread protests in North Africa, and fled to London. Following his error, US officials reprimanded Cohen for “killing” the conduit of communication with Libya, The Cradle reported.