An American official announced that his country intends to hold a meeting in early 2023 that includes Israel and the Arab countries that have concluded agreements to normalize relations with it, as part of its efforts to urge the next right-wing Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu to exercise restraint.
And the French Press Agency quoted the American official, whom it described as senior, that the United States is working to organize a meeting, "perhaps in the first quarter" of 2023, for the foreign ministers of the countries that participated in the "Negev Summit" in March 2022.
The summit was attended by the Foreign Minister of Egypt, the first Arab country to formally normalize relations with Israel, and his counterparts from the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, which normalized relations with the occupying state in 2020 within the framework of the so-called Abraham Accords sponsored by Washington.
The US official - who asked not to be identified - added that the agreements, which former US President Donald Trump hailed as a distinguished achievement, are "near and dear to Prime Minister Netanyahu's heart, and so I imagine he wants to continue to see this progress."
"I think Israel should take that into consideration," the official added.
He added, "Some of the steps that Israel will take will determine whether it will make it difficult or easier for these countries to engage, participate and move forward, not to mention the inclusion of new countries in the process."
Netanyahu is set to take power at the helm of the most right-wing government in Israel's history, which includes extremist figures who strongly support settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The UAE had signed the Abraham Accords in exchange for a promise from the then Netanyahu government not to move forward with annexing the West Bank, a move that had the Trump administration's blessing.
In turn, the administration of President Joe Biden warned that it opposes annexation and expansion of settlements, and supported the establishment of a Palestinian state, while it did not launch any major diplomatic initiative to reach this goal, which the chances of achieving it are slim.