After UAE, Bahrain to Normalize Relations with Israel
Israel-Bahrain joint statement: “This is a historic breakthrough to further peace in the Middle East.”
Weeks after the United Arab Emirates agreed to a peace deal with Israel, Bahrain has joined the fellow Arab Gulf state in normalize diplomatic relations with the Jewish State, a statement released by the White House on Friday said.
“This is a historic breakthrough to further peace in the Middle East. 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,” the joint statement issued by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump said.
With today’s agreement, Bahrain will be joining Israel and the UAE at the White House signing ceremony next week, Reuters reported.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1304464923469193217?s=19
The Times of Israel reported the landmark development:
According to the officials, Trump will make the announcement at the White House at 1 p.m. Eastern time. It was not immediately clear whether Bahrain will join the formal signing of the so-called UAE-Israel Abraham Accord at the White House on September 15, or simply issue a statement about its intention to establish relations with Israel.
Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported that Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa would be arriving in Washington on Monday.
The kingdom of Bahrain, a tiny island nation close to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, has been expected to be the next country to establish relations with Israel, as it has long made public overtures to the Jewish state.
Trump hinted during a Thursday press conference that another country may join Israel and the UAE for their normalization signing ceremony at the White House.
“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,” Trump said during a White House press briefing.
“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 said.
Joint Statement of the United States, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the State of Israel pic.twitter.com/xMquRkGtpM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2020
Jerusalem-based newspaper Israel Hayom on Friday reported the recent diplomatic developments between the Israel and Bahrain, and the role played by the Trump administration:
Bahrain recognized Israel’s right to exist in May 2019. In June 2019, Bahrain hosted an Israeli-Palestinian “economic peace conference,” and invitations were extended to six Israeli media outlets. In July 2019, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid Ahmed Al Khalifa and Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz met in the US.
While US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was visiting Bahrain in late August, a State Department official said Washington would help Israel and Bahrain reach normalization “if needed.”
#BREAKING Bahrain and Isrsel expected to officially announce normalization later today
— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) September 11, 2020
While announcing the Israel-UAE peace deal on August 13, President Trump indicated that other Arab countries might normalize relations with the Jewish State on a comparable basis.
“Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates,” President Trump said in the statement delivered from the Oval Office.
Note: Bahrain normalizing with Israel doesn’t happen without Saudi permission. It just doesn’t. Which means that this regional peace is going to broaden.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 11, 2020
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had expressed similar optimism.
“In recent years, Israel under my leadership has made advancements in ties with such countries as Sudan, Oman, Bahrain and other nations in the Gulf,” he said shortly after the White House announcement. “I have reason to be very optimistic that today’s announcement with the UAE will be followed by more Arab nations joining our region’s circle of peace,” he added.
With Bahrain now following the UAE’s example, those hopes are turning into reality.
As more and more countries normalize relations with Israel, the region becomes more stable, secure, and prosperous—and we can keep returning more of our great American troops home. pic.twitter.com/03k5CsPrGp
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) September 11, 2020
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Comments
I think we also need to thank Iran. These welcome developments are in part due to a realization on the Arab world’s part that they need to make common cause with Israel in dealing with Iran.
I am sure Iran would be very irritated to learn anyone is crediting them with contributing to the Arab world’s recognition of Israel, so I am happy to place some credit where I think it is due.
You’re right. That’s a no-Bahrainer.
/someone had to…
Groan.
Indeed. Iran’s mullahs hate the Arabs as much as they hate Israel and America. It shouldn’t have taken the sheikhs and emirs this long to realize it, but better late than never.
Don’t worry, Arabs are well aware of the millennia-old dislike that Arabs and Persians have for each other. Sunni versus Shiite also factors into this, but the dislike is not merely religious. It took a while for the Arabs to realize that the Iranian crocodile was after them, also.
The irony about all this is that before the Mullahs took power in Iran, Iran was more compatible for Americans than Arab countries were. That may still be true today on a personal level, but on the geopolitical level, Trump has it right and Obama was dead wrong. We are enemies of the Mullahs.
Precisely.
Prior to the entry of the mullahs, Iran was very much a western like country. The mullahs took it back to around the 7th century.
And given a chance, they would take all of humanity back into the dark ages.
Mullahs brains have the consistency of cast iron, fragile, and their heads are about to explode, producing shrapnel, which will perforate all around them.
I think Obama’s Iran deal was the wake-up call the Arabs needed. They realized they could no longer count on all Americans, left and right, recognizing the threat Iran posed to world peace.
They’re wasting no time making these deals now because Biden would represent a return to Obama’s vision of “balance” in the region.
I’d be placing all of the neocons on suicide watch. John Kerry too.
Only so we can laugh.
Benny Shapiro doesn’t exactly sound pleased in the tone of his tweet.
I can’t listen fast enough to figure out his rapid Munchkin talk.
I’ve always found him annoying. Little or no original thinking. It’s as though he bought his conservarism in a lot, assembled it with no modifications, and goes from there.
^^^ lot s/b kit.
He’s too ambitious. Looks for opportunities just to be controversial without accomplishing anything. His books are gimmicky. His voice is very annoying. And he was a NeverTrumper who never reconciled that with what he is now doing.
I can’t figure out who his fans are and why he keeps getting radio shows.
Phil there are a lot of those Never Trumpers like that.
Also, he’s a “conservative” who has never learned how to argue for conservatism beyond throwing out things or short zingers that sound good as sound bites on YouTube or on his website (because every article there has to include an autoplay of him pontificating about something) or in front of a college crowd.
Maybe Kerry can get the Epstein suite.
Blame it on Trump.
The Saudi’s will be along shortly, guaranteed.
Yes – Bahrain is closely aligned with the Saudi’s.
My bet is that Saudi Arabia joins the crowd on the eve of the first debate.
I respectfully disagree.
Why would the Saudis want themselves to be a high profile target? They’re geographically between Turkey/Syria/Lebanon and Iran/China. The desire for this axis to take them down would be irresistable. It’s better for them to stay in the background as cheerleader for the other Arab states making peace with Israel with the US brokering the deals.
As more countries settle down and establish a dialog (at minimum) or diplomatic relations (at maximum) with Israel, it becomes obvious that Trump has the attitude and ability to do what generations of professional politicians have been unwilling or unable to do – get results.
.
In just a few years, President Trump has done what no one before him could do, bring the prospect of a true peace to the ME. Iran will be left in the cold to wither on the vine. There will come a time when support from the surrounding ME countries will allow the people of Iran to throw of the mullah shackles.
I see it happening within the next 5 years, but the Iranians may make a last gasp that will cause trouble before peace breaks out.
I think we should deploy drones which eradicate anyone wearing one of those funny hats.
^^^ lot should be kit.
This is not all that surprising. I used to live in Saudia and my family and I would tak vacation trips to Bahrain two or three times a year. It was like being back in the apostates again. They even have a Jewish cemetery and Jewish center in Manama
Amazing how the Middle East changes when the US doesn’t need their oil anymore.
To be fair, the world still needs ME oil.
Absent President Trump the ME would be the same as always. It is this president that has ended the dependence on ME oil in the USA, and created the need for the ME countries to follow our lead if they expect to survive.
Then Chad, a majority-Muslim nation, announced earlier this week that it will be putting an embassy in Jerusalem.
This insidious plan is to occupy Jerusalem with embassies.