Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, May 19, 2019. Photo: Ariel Schalit / Pool via Reuters / File.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel had “contacts” with “most of the Arab countries.”

Speaking in Tel Aviv at a memorial ceremony for those killed in the June 1948 Altalena incident, Netanyahu said, “We are holding open and secret contacts with many leaders of the Arab world and there are ramified contacts between the State of Israel and Arab countries, with most of the Arab countries.”

Addressing the upcoming US-sponsored economic workshop in Manama, the first stage of the Trump administration’s yet-to-be-unveiled peace plan, Netanyahu stated, “Very soon there will be an important conference in Bahrain, that we welcome, at which the US will try to bring about a better future for — and resolve problems of — the region.”

“Of course, Israelis will be present,” Netanyahu said, confirming that, as was widely rumored, Israeli businesspeople would attend the workshop, although government officials were not invited.

Netanyahu also noted, “At the start of next week, there will be an historic and unprecedented meeting in Jerusalem between the national security advisers of the US, Russia, and Israel. This is a very important summit for ensuring stability in the Middle East during turbulent times.”

“What is important about this trilateral meeting of the two superpowers in the State of Israel is that it greatly attests to the current international standing of Israel among the nations,” the prime minister added.