Oman severs low-level ties with Israel

MUSCAT, Oman (Reuters) -- Oman said on Thursday it was suspending low-level ties with Israel after two weeks of bloody Israeli-Palestinian clashes in which at least 97 people, mostly Arabs, have been killed.

The official Omani News Agency quoted a Foreign Ministry statement as saying Oman was closing its trade office in Israel and the Israeli commercial mission in the Gulf Arab state to show its support for the Palestinians.

"Based on its support of the Palestinian cause and its continuous solidarity with the legitimate rights of the Palestinians, Oman announces the closure of its commercial office in Tel Aviv and the closure of the Israeli trade mission in Muscat," the statement said.

Oman and Qatar set up low-level ties with the Jewish state after Israel and the Palestinians reached an interim peace deal in 1993. They are the only Gulf Arab states to maintain low-level ties with Israel.

Both states froze steps towards normalisation of relations with Israel in 1997 over what they saw as hardline Israeli policies and the stalling of the peace process.

Oman has condemned Israel for its "brutal massacres" of the Palestinians, and students in the capital Muscat have taken to the streets in recent days to demand that Oman sever its ties with Israel.

The Foreign Ministry statement said Oman would continue to "seek a comprehensive and just peace" in the Middle East which would protect Islamic sacred sites and ensure the rights of Palestinians.

Oman and other Arab states are due to hold an emergency summit in Egypt later this month to discuss the violence.

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