Negev Summit To Become Permanent Forum

An historic Arab-Israeli summit in Negev, Israel has concluded with a joint statement announcing that the summit will now become a permanent forum for regional collaboration.

• The Negev summit has been a rare diplomatic meeting between representatives of Israel, the US, Egypt, Morocco, UAE, Bahrain and followed a warming of ties between Israel and Arab states since the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE in 2020.
• The twitter account of the state of Israel wrote: 'And that’s a wrap. May this be the first of many summits to come.'
• The Israel Embassy in Cairo: 'We have decided to turn the Negev summit into a permanent forum with our closest ally, the United States. Today we open the door to the peoples of the region...'
• The summit comes as Israel and gulf states have becoming increasingly aligned in opposition to an Iran nuclear deal. Israeli PM Bennet also issued a statement on the weekend condemning recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
• Israel FM Lapid and the four Arab ministers outlined to US Sec of State Antony Blinken their opposition to removing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from the Foreign Terrorist Organisation list. Blinken responded 'criticism fell on attentive ears.'
• A new Arab-Israeli forum could provide scope for greater coordination on Iran, security, and Palestine but could also further institutionalise proxy conflicts between Tehran and Riyadh.
• Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have condemned the summit, calling it a 'summit of shame.'