The meeting between Arab foreign ministers in Israel will become a regular event, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Monday.
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"This meeting was something people didn't think would happen, that could never have been envisioned. They were wrong," Lapid said. "It happened because we believed in it, because this is the vision we have set up for the future of our region."
"Last night we decided to make the Negev Summit into a permanent forum," he said alongside counterparts from United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Egypt and the United States.
"We are today opening a door before all the peoples of the region, including the Palestinians, and offering them to replace the way of terror and destruction with a shared future of progress and success."
Lapid said that the "new architecture" frightened Israel and the moderate Arab states' common enemies – primarily Iran and its satellites.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday said Washington and its allies will work together to confront security challenges and threats including from Iran and its proxies.
Speaking at the Negev Summit, Blinken also said Washington would continue to support the normalization process between Israel and Arab countries, but added that this should not be a substitute for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Morocco's foreign minister said on Monday his presence alongside three Arab counterparts at an Israeli-hosted summit was the "best response" to attacks such as an Islamic State-linked shooting spree in Israel, which he condemned as terrorism.
"Our presence today is, I think, the best response to such attacks," Nasser Bourita said in remarks to reporters.
Meanwhile, Jordan's King Abdullah II reportedly arrived in Ramallah Monday afternoon for a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, witnesses said.
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