Netanyahu reaches out to Bahrain in bid to step up cooperation

Israel’s former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifah to visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories soon, in a move to further strengthen relations with the Persian Gulf country.

In a phone call on Sunday, the Israeli regime’s presumptive incoming prime minister told the Bahraini crown prince that the two sides face “great opportunities” and that he expects the direct line of communication between them to continue.

According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu’s office reported that “the crown prince expressed Bahrain’s desire to broaden and deepen the relations between our countries and bring our collaboration to new heights.”

Following Netanyahu’s winning of elections while standing charges on corruption and political dysfunction, the diplomatic adviser to Bahrain’s king, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, said on November 6 that “Bahrain has an agreement with Israel, part of the Abraham Accords, and we will stick to our agreement and we expect it to continue in the same line and continue building our partnership together.”

In September 2020, Netanyahu signed normalization agreements with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani during an official ceremony hosted by former US President Donald Trump at the White House. Sudan and Morocco followed suit later that year.

Senior Israeli officials, including former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Minister of War Benny Gantz, visited Manama recently in February. Bennett’s trip marked the first visit by an Israeli premier since Manama and Tel Aviv established ties under the US-sponsored normalization deals.

Gantz was accompanied by several top military officials, including Israeli Navy Chief Admiral David Saar Salama. Gantz and his Bahraini counterpart Abdulla bin Hasan Al Nuaimi signed a security pact.

ME