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First official visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to Bahrain

Naftali Bennett, the first Israeli prime minister to visit Bahrain, begins a series of meetings today with senior officials of the Gulf monarchy.

On Monday night, Bennett was received by Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdelatif al-Zayani, and Manama Airport was decorated with the flags of the two countries on this occasion.

Today he will meet with the Crown Prince of Bahrain and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and then with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Close allies of Washington, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became in September 2020 the first Gulf monarchies to normalize relations with Israel, strengthening its integration into an area where Iran is considered a threat.

However, the Palestinians criticized the move, saying it should not have happened if no solution had been found in the Middle East.

Named the “Abraham Accords”, these agreements were extended to Sudan and Morocco under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, however, did not visit the Emirates and Bahrain, unlike his successor.

“It’s important, especially in these turbulent times, to send a message of goodwill, co-operation, unity in the face of common challenges from this region,” Bennett said yesterday, without elaborating on Iran.

Activists under surveillance

Tehran is also a black sheep for Bahrain as it accuses it of inciting anti-government protests. In 2011 the small kingdom was rocked by a popular movement led by the Shiite minority, who make up the majority of the country, which is ruled by a Sunni dynasty.

Protesters in the context of the Arab Spring called for democratic reforms. But the authorities, with the help of Saudi Arabia, responded with bloody repression and arrested dozens of dissidents.

According to human rights groups, online surveillance has been stepped up in recent years, with the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab recently reporting that the controversial NSO’s Pegasus surveillance software was found on the cell phones of some activists. of 2020 until February of 2021.

Although Bennett did not address Iran directly yesterday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gandz signed a “defense agreement” with Bahrain in early February to address “naval and air threats” in a context of escalating tensions between the two countries. Gulf monarchies on the one hand and Iran and its regional allies on the other.

Under the agreement, Israel is expected to send a Navy officer to Bahrain, where the 5th US Fleet, which is responsible for US naval operations in the Middle East, is stationed. Washington also included Israel in the US Central Command (Centcom) last year.

SOURCE: AMPE

Source: Capital

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