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The Turkish regime press also described Bahrain’s steps, as did the Syrian and Palestinian media. “This is another treacherous stabbing against the Palestinian cause,” said a statement from the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Ramallah.
The first stabbing, as the Palestinians see it, came when the United Arab Emirates recently signaled that they wanted to normalize relations with Israel. The United Arab Emirates and Israel will sign the agreement on the exchange of ambassadors and open trade between the countries on Tuesday in Washington. The White House has now announced that Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani will attend the ceremony.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani will sign an agreement at the White House that normalizes relations with Israel.
Photo: eyevine
Bahrain newspapers dedicated Saturday’s covers to the “strategic decision.” However, official spokesmen stressed that the capital, Manama, was still awaiting Israeli confirmation that the planned annexation of the occupied Jordan Valley had stopped. Bahrain spokespersons also emphasized that diplomatic relations do not mean acceptance of the Palestinian territories. A demonstration took place in Manama on Saturday, where Bakr Darwish, leader of the Bahrain Human Rights Forum, delivered a protest speech:
– The people of Bahrain see Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. Any normalization with Israel is treason.
Bahrain’s real significance in the region’s power play is modest. The small island in the Gulf between Qatar and Saudi Arabia is half the size of Öland and its economy is almost one-tenth the size of the United Arab Emirates. Its oil resources are modest. What makes the rapprochement with Israel interesting is that Bahrain’s foreign policy is closely coordinated with that of Saudi Arabia. Diplomatic relations between Bahrain and Israel herald the fact that the Saud family is about to take the same step, something that will really affect the regional balance of power.
For Iran, Bahrain has it has been of particular importance, as it is one of the few Arab countries – the others are Lebanon and Iraq – with a Shiite Muslim majority. Relations between Bahrain and Iraq broke down in 2016, after the Khalifa royal family accused the Islamic Republic of sponsoring armed Shiite extremists and terrorists in the country for years. The United States has two naval bases in Bahrain.
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