ammonnews.net

Ammon News - Ambassadors from Jordan, Bahrain, and the UAE skipped a Ramadan event organised by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday in a sign of a growing rift between Arab states and Israel.

The UAE and Bahrain instead sent lower-level diplomats to the foreign ministry iftar, although Egypt and Turkey's ambassadors did attend, The Times of Israel reported.

The head of Morocco's liaison office in Israel, Abderrahim Beyyoudh, also was present at the iftar.

The feast was intended to bring together the ambassadors of Muslim-majority nations at a time Israeli far-right ministers have caused a backlash in the Arab world over a series of inflammatory comments.

During the iftar, Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen praised the Abraham Accords - which saw Israel establish relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco - despite the apparent snub of the event by Abu Dhabi and Manama, saying it was his country's "greatest achievement in recent years".

"The Abraham Accords brought about a change in the relationship with the governments and no less, with the people in the Middle East," he added.

Yet there has been something of a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Arab states since the establishment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government in December.