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Israel has no formal diplomatic relations with Oman or its Arab Gulf neighbors. But boosting ties, particularly on the basis of a shared interest in countering regional rival Iran, has been a priority for Mr. Netanyahu as prime minister. Israel shares some intelligence information with Arab Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., according to current and former American and Israeli officials. But cooperation has remained tacit absent a resolution to the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Mr. Netanyahu’s office said the visit is a significant step toward his goal “of deepening relations with the states of the region while leveraging Israel’s advantages in security, technology and economic matters.”

The Trump administration welcomed the visit and described it as useful to its effort to bring about peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

“This is a helpful step for our peace efforts & essential to create an atmosphere of stability, security & prosperity between Israelis, Palestinians & their neighbors. Looking forward to seeing more meetings like this!,” Jason Greenblatt, a member of Mr. Trump’s peace team, said on Twitter Friday. Mr. Greenblatt is expected to visit Israel next week for consultations.

The Netanyahu visit reflected growing quiet ties between Israel and its neighbors that Washington and Israel hope will become more public in the future.

“This is one of the signs of the tectonic shift in the Middle East in which Israel finds itself on the same side of many moderate Arab countries that are willing to work together and face security challenges together,” said Lior Weintraub, former chief of staff of Israel’s embassy in Washington and now vice president of the Israel Project.

Oman has long served as a bridge between countries in the region, including as a back channel between the U.S. and Iran ahead of talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Israel released several photos of the visit, including the two men shaking hands, sitting side by side in an ornate meeting room and looking at a map of the region together. Omani state television showed clips of Mr. Netanyahu and his wife arriving at an Omani royal palace in the capital city of Muscat, and the two were greeted with handshakes by the sultan and a large number of officials at the residence.

Mr. Netanyahu and Sultan Qaboos discussed Middle East peace and regional stability, the Israeli leader’s office said. He visited Oman at the sultan’s invitation, after what Israeli officials said were lengthy discussions between the two sides.

Mr. Netanyahu’s visit to Oman comes after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas earlier this week also visited Oman at Sultan Qaboos’s request, according to the Palestine News Agency.

The visit is a sign of warming ties between Israel and Oman as well as a broader detente in the region, but Saudi Arabia and Jordan are seen as having more influence with the Palestinians when it comes to pressing the sides closer together in peace negotiations.

Following the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, there was some initial improvement on relations between Israel and its Arab Gulf neighbors. Shimon Peres was the last Israeli leader to visit Oman in 1996, after the countries signed an agreement to open trade offices in each other’s countries. But Oman closed its office in Israel in 2000 in the wake of the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising.