Hawzah News Agency - (Muscat - Oman) - The head of Israel’s spy agency Mossad says the occupying regime is renewing ties with Oman, adding that a representative office of the Israeli foreign ministry will open in the Persian Gulf, as Tel Aviv and Arab monarchies move to bring their clandestine ties to light.

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference on Monday, Yossi Cohen said “Just recently, renewal of formal relations with Oman was declared and the establishment of a representative office of thef oreign ministry in that country.”

“That is only the visible tip of a much broader secret effort,” he added.

Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab states that have diplomatic ties with Israel. However, reports have indicated that several of them, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, have had secret relations with Tel Aviv

“We do not yet have with them (Arab states) official peace treaties but there is already a communality of interests, broad cooperation and open channels of communication,” Cohen said.

Israel and Oman agreed to open trade representative offices in the 1990s, but in 2000, the Persian Gulf sultanate shut them down after the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada (uprising).

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Oman’s Sultan Qaboos in Muscat last October. The controversial visit was kept secret until after the Israeli premier returned to the occupied territories.

On Wednesday, Oman announced plans to open an embassy in Palestine in support of the Palestinian people, in a first for a Persian Gulf state.

Palestine warns Oman

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization, welcomed Muscat’s decision, saying “I hope the embassy will help in educating the Omani government on the real nature of the Israeli occupation.”

She, however, warned Oman against using its mission to establish formal ties with Tel Aviv, saying, “If this has a political price attached then certainly there will be ramifications.”