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Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will meet Bahrain’s king on Tuesday after arriving for the primary go to by an Israeli head of state to the Gulf nation, 17 months after they defied a long time of tensions to normalise diplomatic ties.
Bennett was welcomed by Bahrain’s Overseas Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani at Manama airport, which was embellished with the flags of each nations, late on Monday. He’ll meet King Hamad and Crown Prince Salman, who can be prime minister, on Tuesday, experiences AFP.
Bennett’s go to is the newest such initiative following the US-brokered 2020 Abraham Accords, which ran counter to the longstanding Arab consensus that dominated out ties with Israel within the absence of an answer to the Israeli-Palestinian battle.
Bahrain and its shut ally the United Arab Emirates turned solely the third and fourth Arab states — following Egypt and Jordan — to determine ties with Israel after they signed on to the pacts negotiated underneath US president Donald Trump. Bennett visited the UAE in December.
“In these tumultuous occasions it is essential that from this area we ship a message of goodwill, of cooperation of standing collectively in opposition to frequent challenges,” Bennett mentioned earlier than his departure.
The journey follows a go to to Manama by Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz earlier this month that noticed the 2 nations signal a defence settlement.
That deal lined intelligence, procurement and joint coaching, with Gantz boasting that it additional solidified the fledgling diplomatic relationship.
– ‘Completely’ about Iran –
The go to additionally comes at a time of regional tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iran is engaged in negotiations with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia straight and with the USA not directly to revive the deal formally referred to as the Joint Complete Plan of Motion.
The deal provided Tehran sanctions reduction in alternate for curbs on its nuclear programme. The US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 underneath Trump. The drive to salvage it resumed in late November.
Bennett’s authorities strongly opposes a return to the 2015 settlement, warning repeatedly that lifting sanctions in opposition to Iran would give it extra money to purchase weapons to be used in opposition to Israelis.
Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher on the Institute for Nationwide Safety Research in Tel Aviv, mentioned Bennett’s journey is “completely” about Iran.
“In mild of the talks in Vienna, it’s a present of drive, symbolism that the nations are working collectively,” he mentioned.
Dore Gold, head of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, mentioned Israel and Bahrain have been pushed in the direction of nearer ties as each are “underneath risk by Iranian actions”.
He pointed to unrest in Bahrain blamed on Iran-backed opposition teams and the vary of threats that Israel says Iran poses, notably its arming of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
As a part of their defence agreements, Israel is ready to submit a naval official in Bahrain, which hosts a base for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Guzansky mentioned that in a number of respects Bahrain has been perceived as shifting slower than the UAE by way of consolidating ties with Israel.
He mentioned permitting an Israeli navy officer to be primarily based in Bahrain was “vital”, nonetheless, noting that Bahrain “doesn’t wish to be seen as an Israeli base within the Gulf”.
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