Bahrain FM to make first visit to Israel

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdellatif al-Zayani is to make a visit to Israel on Wednesday.

1 min read

16 November, 2020

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdellatif al-Zayani is to make a visit to Israel on Wednesday [Getty]

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdellatif al-Zayani is to make a visit to Israel on Wednesday, the first by a senior Bahraini official since the two countries signed a normalisation deal, official media said.

The BNA news agency said the visit would "affirm Bahrain's strong and permanent position in favour of supporting the peace process" and be focused on "the economic opportunities and bilateral accords with Israel".

Bahrain and its Gulf neighbour, the United Arab Emirates, both signed US-sponsored normalisation accords with Israel on September 15 at the White House.

Israel and the UAE last month signed agreements on visa-free travel, civil aviation, investment protection, and science and technology during a first official Emirati visit to the Jewish state.

The UAE led the way in forging ties between the Gulf and Israel, announcing its decision in August, before Bahrain followed suit a month later.

The Gulf agreements were condemned by the Palestinians as a "betrayal" for breaking with years of Arab League policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The consensus had been that there should be no relations with Israel until it makes peace with the Palestinians.

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