Arab leaders have ‘discreet’ ties to Israel: Bibi

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah appeared upset with reports that Sunni Arab leaders are increasingly viewing Israel as an ally in the fight against Iran.

In a speech broadcasted on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television in honor of “Martyrs Leader Day,” Nasrallah said that Israel was “taking advantage” of Sunni Arab states’ confrontation with Iran to forge “relations and alliances with the Sunni Arab states.” He also said that Israel viewed the Islamic State as a “lesser” threat than Iran and Hezbollah.

In an address to American Jewish leaders on Sunday in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said some Arab leaders “are changing their view of Israel” and forming discreet ties with the Jewish State.

“They don’t see Israel anymore as their enemy, but they see Israel as their ally, especially in the battle against militant Islam with its two fountainheads: the militant Islamists led by Iran, and the militant Islamists led by Daesh (Islamic State),” Netanyahu said, adding, “This is something that is forging new ties, many of them discreet, some of them open.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, “We have channels to talk with our Arab neighbors, the Sunni states … not just Jordan and Egypt, with which we have peace, the Gulf states and North African states too.

“The situation is sensitive. We cannot even shake hands in public.”