Top cleric decries Israel-Bahrain deal, calls to resist

Bahraini opposition groups rejected a decision by the Persian Gulf state to normalize relations with Israel, with a leading cleric calling on the region’s people to resist.

According to Tasnim news agency, in a statement published by Bahraini opposition party, al-Wefaq, Sheikh Isa Qassim, the spiritual Leader of Bahrain's Shia majority said he was against normalization between Arab countries and Israel.

The accords between Israel and the UAE last month, and between Israel and Bahrain on Friday, go against the will of the people, he said.

“There is a great divergence between the rulers and the ruled in thought, mind, aims and interests. Governments are experiencing a psychological defeat and want to impose it on the people, and the people have to resist this defeat,” Qassim said.

A joint statement by a group of Bahraini political and civil society associations, including the Bahrain Bar Association, on Sunday also stood against the deal.

The head of Bahrain’s highest court ordered judiciary employees not to criticize government policy or express opinions harming national unity, al-Bilad newspaper reported on Sunday.

Bahrainis have previously criticized their government’s engagements with Israel, including last June’s conference in Manama to launch a US-led $50 billion economic formula for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

ME