Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took off for a 24-hour visit to Bahrain on Monday evening, Israeli media reported.
According to The Times of Israel, Bennett is set to meet Bahrain’s ruler, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, along with the country’s crown prince and prime minister, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.
History in Bahrain – Prime Minister Naftali Bennett just landed in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, for the first official visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to Bahrain. pic.twitter.com/iFzycMDMS0
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 14, 2022
“This is an exciting event,” Bennett was reported by The Times of Israel as saying before departing. “During this stormy period it is important that from our region there comes a message of cooperation, goodwill and a joint stand against threats.”
Bennett’s office declared that the meeting “will revolve around deepening the bilateral relationship between the countries, after they signed a normalization agreement as part of the Abraham Accords.”
The country of Bahrain normalized ties with Israel in September 2020, less than a month following a similar decision by the United Arab Emirates.
Bennett arrives in Bahrain on 1st visit by Israeli prime minister https://t.co/KOnaZdzmC2 pic.twitter.com/lY6YfWB2il
— ANADOLU AGENCY (@anadoluagency) February 14, 2022
The Bahraini decision, which was announced by US President Donald Trump, was made despite repeated assurances that Manama will not extend diplomatic ties with Israel until Palestinians obtain their rights in accordance with international law.
The Bahrain-Israel agreement came as another shock to Palestinians who were still reeling following the news of the UAE-Israel normalization.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
