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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was set to fly to Bahrain on Monday for the first-ever official go to by an Israeli head of presidency to the Gulf state.
Bennett’s go to is the most recent following the US-brokered 2020 Abraham Accords, which defied many years of Arab consensus that dominated out ties 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 majority Arab states — following Egypt and Jordan — to ascertain ties with Israel after they signed on to the pacts negotiated underneath former US president Donald Trump.
Bennett was scheduled to fulfill Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa in addition to different prime officers, and representatives of Bahrain’s Jewish neighborhood, his workplace stated.
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.
The deal coated intelligence, procurement and joint coaching, with Gantz boasting that it additional solidified the nascent diplomatic relationship.
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 immediately and with the US not directly to revive the deal formally referred to as the Joint Complete Plan of Motion.
– Give attention to Iran –
The deal provided Tehran sanctions aid in change 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, repeatedly warning that providing Tehran sanctions aid will result in elevated income that Iran will use to purchase weapons to be used towards Israelis.
Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher on the Institute for Nationwide Safety Research in Tel Aviv, stated 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 stated.
Dore Gold, head of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, stated Israel and Bahrain have been pushed in direction of nearer ties as each are “underneath menace by Iranian actions”.
He pointed to unrest in Bahrain blamed on Iran-backed insurgents and the vary of threats that Israel says Iran poses, notably its arming of the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
As a part of their defence agreements, Israel is ready to publish a naval official in Bahrain, which hosts a base for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Guzansky stated that in a number of respects Bahrain has been perceived as transferring slower than the UAE by way of solidifying ties with Israel.
However, he added, permitting an Israeli army officer to be primarily based there was “vital,” whereas noting that Bahrain “doesn’t wish to be seen as an Israeli base within the Gulf.”
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