On Friday, Bahrain followed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in normalizing ties with Israel, a move that many see as a backstab to the Palestinian struggle.
United States (US) President Donald Trump tweeted about the decision after he spoke to Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through a phone call, according to the White House.
Talking to the reporters, Trump said, “This is truly a historic day”, further adding that he believed other countries would follow the same soon.
A joint statement by US, Bahrain, and Israel said, “Opening direct dialogue and ties between these two dynamic societies and advanced economies will continue the positive transformation of the Middle East and increase stability, security, and prosperity in the region”.
Bahrain now becomes the second Gulf Arab state and the fourth Arab country to normalize ties with Israel following the UAE. Egypt and Jordan exchanged embassies with Israel decades ago.
Palestinians believe this move weakens a longstanding pan-Arab position under the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which stated that the Arab world would only ever normalize ties with Israel if Israel withdrew from occupied Palestinian territory and accepted Palestinian statehood.
The UAE normalized relations with Israel under a US-brokered deal on August 13th. The deal is scheduled to be signed on Tuesday at a formal White House ceremony hosted by Trump.
The ceremony referred to as the “historic Declaration of Peace” in UAE, Israel, and US joint statement is due to be attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, tweeted about the Bahrain- Israel agreement saying:
Netanyahu stated that Bahrain’s decision brings a “new era of peace.”
“For many long years, we invested in peace, and now peace will invest in us, will bring about truly major investments in Israel’s economy,” Netanyahu added.
Congratulating Bahrain on following UAE’s footsteps, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hend al-Otaiba said this move marked “another significant and historic achievement which will contribute enormously to the stability and prosperity of the region.”
The Palestinian leadership issued a statement condemning the Bahrain-Israel deal and stated it as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
“The Palestinian leadership rejects this step taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain and calls on it to immediately retreat from it due to the great harm it causes to the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and joint Arab action,” the statement said.
Hazem Qassem, Hamas spokesman, stated Bahrain’s move of normalizing ties with Israel “represents a grave harm to the Palestinian cause, and it supports the occupation.”
A special adviser on international affairs for the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said Bahrain’s actions were a great betrayal to the Islamic cause and Palestinians.
“The imprudent leaders in UAE, #Bahrain must not pave the way for the Zionist schemes,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian tweeted.
Last week, following Saudi Arabia permitting Israeli commercial airliner to fly over it on the way to the UAE, Bahrain said it would allow flights between Israel and the UAE to use its airspace.
On Wednesday, Palestinian leaders failed to convince the Arab League to condemn the UAE– Israel deal of normalizing ties. However, Saudi Arabia did reaffirm its support for Palestine’s right to statehood and its commitment to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
Recently, Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a Norwegian parliamentarian, announced that he had nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“The agreement he made between Israel and the United Arab Emirates could mean peace between Israel and the Arab world. That is like the [Berlin] Wall falling down,” he said as his reason for nominating the US president.