Mauritanian Foreign Minister Dah Weld Abdi arrived in Israel Tuesday despite the Arab League’s recommendation Saturday to halt diplomatic contacts with the Jewish state.
Abdi is scheduled to hold talks Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and President Moshe Katsav, said reports.
The Arab African country established diplomatic ties with Israel in October 1999.
Opposition figures were quoted by AFP as saying that Abdi’s visit “legitimizes Israeli barbaric acts against the Palestinian people.”
The foreign minister’s visit also triggered criticism by the Popular Committee for Anti-Normalization with Israel, which described Abdi’s visit to the Jewish state as a “betrayal to the Arab and Muslim cause” and to the resolutions adopted by the Arab organizations – Albawaba.com
