Israel's Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, saying that the "iron curtain" between Israel and the Arab world is falling. "These are optimistic times in the Middle East. The iron curtain that has defined Israel's relations with most of the Arab and Muslim world for generations is coming down," he said, according to Haaretz.
He added that if Arab states want to contribute to the peace process, they must realize that ties with Israel are critical. He stated that contacts between Israel and Arab and Islamic nations would help make the Middle East "a region of tolerance and cooperation."
"Today I call on my Arab and Muslim colleagues to bring our contacts out into the light of day, so that our peoples may understand our shared desire to work with each other, to bring peace and prosperity to our region," Shalom stressed
