Trump to announce Bahrain-Israel normalisation agreement shortly: reports

Bahrain's crown prince is also reportedly preparing to travel to Washington DC on Monday.
2 min read
11 September, 2020
President Trump will reportedly make the announcement at 1pm Eastern time.



US President Donald Trump is expected to announce a normalisation deal between Bahrain and Israel on Friday, according to Israeli media reports. 

Citing unnamed officials, The Times of Israel reported that the president will make the announcement at 1 pm Eastern time from the White House.

According to Israel's Kan public broadcaster, Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa will arrive in Washington on Monday.

The reports did not say whether Bahrain will join the September 15 signing of the so-called Abraham Accord at the White House on September 15, which will officiate the United Arab Emirates and Israel's ties.

Bahrain has widely been expected to follow the UAE in formalising a relationship with Israel, alongside its senior ally, Saudi Arabia.

On Thursday, Trump said another country could be 'added into' the signing ceremony for the so-called Abraham Agreement in Washington DC on September 15. 

"Next week at the White House we'll be having a signing between the UAE and Israel, and we could have another country added into that. And I will tell you that countries are lining up that want to go into it," President Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday in comments quoted by Reuters

"You'll be hearing other countries coming in over a relatively short period of time. And you could have peace in the Middle East," he added.

President Trump did not name the Arab countries which are considering joining the deal but said he had spoken with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.


"I think what ultimately will happen is you're going to have quite a few countries come in. The big ones are going to be coming in. I spoke to the king of Saudi Arabia, so we're talking. We just started the dialogue. And you'll have them come in," he said.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, like most other Gulf countries, share with Israel a common enemy in Iran, which Manama accuses of instigating protests by the nation's Shia Muslim majority against the ruling Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty.


Agencies contributed to this report.

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