Former Omani Foreign Minister Yousef bin Alawi said Arab countries can resolve the Palestinian issue in a few months, but they are not doing so because of Israel’s control over the region’s decision-making process .
The veteran Omani diplomat confirmed to “The Other Side” program that the United States and the West stand by Israel and provide it with protection in a way that thwarts all attempts at peace.
However, what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank represents “the beginning of the real story”, because this is the moment when the Arabs can provide support to the Palestinians, says Ibn Alawi.
Ibn Alawi was known for speaking rarely, appearing rarely, and avoiding noise even when working to resolve complex issues between regional or international parties. Throughout his work, he was the mirror of his country, which avoided noise. the dangers of politics behind his calm features and simple smile.
Israel controls the Arabs
Contrary to his known secret, Ibn Alawi was very frank in his speech and stated that the conflict with Israel would only cost the Arabs 6 months of support for the resistance, but at the same time he emphasized that the reality is different from that -this, because certain countries are seeking to reconcile with Tel Aviv.
According to the former Omani official, Israel “does not allow Arabs to discuss the Palestinian issue because it controls their decision, because its plans go far beyond Palestine.”
Thus, in Ibn Alawi’s view, the Arabs “would be in danger if the Egyptian army were not present, because Israel wants to implement its plans by force.”
As for the Palestinians, they have no choice but to make sacrifices to obtain their freedom, and yet they are divided over who governs or how to manage the occupation, according to Ibn Alawi.
Even the recent normalization agreements that took place between Israel and some Arab countries – in Ibn Alawi’s view – need to be tested so that their negative and positive aspects can be known.
Returning to the person of Yusuf bin Alawi himself, he was born and raised in the city of Salalah, in the south of the sultanate, and worked in agriculture before settling in the capital, Muscat, for a trip at sea which lasted a month and a half. .
In his youth, the man participated in the “Dhofar Revolution” that the Sultanate witnessed between 1965 and 1975, but he soon fought in the ranks of the Sultan’s forces when his outlook changed and it seemed to him that what was happening was a rebellion. and not a revolution.
Throughout his tenure as foreign minister, Ibn Alawi was characterized by secrecy and distancing from the conflicts and wars sweeping the region from one end to the other.
From the capital, Ibn Alawi traveled between several Gulf countries, before settling in Kuwait as an administrative employee in a school and then as an employee in the army, after which he settled in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to work there as a news journalist.
When the so-called “Dhofar Revolution” broke out in 1965, Ibn Alawi was its representative in Cairo, but he sided with the Sultan after the Hamrin Conference in 1968, after the Dhofar revolutionaries had dispersed on several fronts, each of which received support. support from one of the countries.
40 years of diplomacy
With the coming to power of Sultan Qaboos bin Said in July 1970 and his adoption of the option of reconciliation with the revolutionaries of Dhofar, Youssef bin Alawi returned to Muscat to work as royal envoy in several Arab countries.
During this work, the man carried the messages of the new sultan to the Arab capitals, the aim of which was to present the image of the new Oman which wanted to integrate into its Arab environment, that is why all countries , with the exception of South Yemen, received it at that time.
Since 1971, Ibn Alawi has held several positions in Omani diplomacy. He was ambassador, then minister of state for foreign affairs in 1982, then minister responsible for foreign affairs in 1992, becoming the face of Oman in almost all instances.
Iranian nuclear negotiations
The Sultanate is known to have hosted the first secret meetings between the United States and Iran, meetings which then developed and produced what became known as the “Comprehensive Action Plan” in 2015, of which the president American Donald Trump withdrew three years after its implementation.
Youssef bin Alawi was a major player in the nuclear negotiations, but he refused to talk about what happened behind the scenes, saying it was “not allowed”, only calling the deal “a “one of the most important agreements in the world”. world because this will put a definitive end to Iran’s nuclear activity.
While the dispute between the West and Iran appears to be ideological, Ibn Alawi asserts that the West’s problem with Iran lies solely in its quest to make a nuclear bomb and nothing else, calling the acquisition of an “unauthorized” nuclear bomb by Tehran.
After 40 years of diplomatic work, Ibn Alawi clearly stated that all American and European leaders explicitly state that they will protect Tel Aviv and not force it to do anything it does not want.
Even if his country was not part of it, Youssef ben Alawi believes that the Arab Spring “is not yet over” and that the problem of the Arab world “lies in the fact that its majority is made up of young people, while its educational system programs are always based on the sanctification of people.
Therefore, the way out of the Arab countries from the current political crisis lies in abandoning the idea of sanctification, which is at the origin of the dispute, in the opinion of the top Omani diplomat, who asserts that the fate of all the Arabs, the Gulf, and not only that, is one and cannot be divided.