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Israeli Spymaster Sees 'One-Time' Chance for Peace with Arabs Sharing Iran
Worries

Reuters

   HERZLIYA, ISRAEL - Israel and U.S.-aligned Arab countries have a unique
   chance to forge a regional peace deal given their shared worries about
   Iran, the chief of Israel's Mossad spy service said Monday.

   In a rare public appearance, Joseph (Yossi) Cohen said his agency had
   formed a task force designed to spot peacemaking opportunities in a
   region where only two Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, have full
   diplomatic relations with Israel.

   "The Mossad today espies a rare opportunity, perhaps for the first time
   in Middle East history, to arrive at a regional understanding that
   would lead to a comprehensive peace accord," he told the Herzliya
   Conference, an annual international security forum near Tel Aviv.

   "Common interests, the fight against rivals such as Iran and jihadist
   terrorism, the close relations with the White House, and channels of
   communication with the Kremlin all combine to create what might be a
   one-time window of opportunity," he said.

   The United States convened Arab and other dignitaries in Bahrain last
   week to encourage investment in the Palestinian economy that might help
   renew peace talks with Israel.

   The Palestinians, seeing a pro-Israel bias in the Trump administration
   and a ruse to deny them their goal of full statehood, boycotted the
   Manama meeting. Israel, which sent only a non-official delegation, saw
   in the event a chance to bolster its wider ties to the Arab world.

   Cohen, whose speech alluded to the Palestinians only in the context of
   threats against Israel from the armed factions, said many Arab
   countries "cannot stand Iran's thuggish behavior."

   He cited Iran's nuclear program, assistance for guerrillas in Lebanon,
   Syria, Yemen and elsewhere, and alleged responsibility for a recent
   spate of sabotage strikes on oil tankers in the Gulf. Iran denies any
   role in those incidents.

   Rapprochement push

   Cohen said Israel's warming of relations with Oman, which Prime
   Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited last October, followed "a lengthy
   covert effort by the Mossad" to seek out closer ties.

   He pointed to what he termed "an expanding group of responsible,
   serious countries" -- which he did not name -- in the region that have
   channels of communication with Israel despite no formal relations, and
   cooperate with it in various ways.

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