Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in Bahrain’s capital Manama on Monday within the highest-level go to for the reason that international locations established relations underneath a 2020 US-sponsored deal based mostly partially on shared issues about Iran.
Bennett will meet with the Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, his workplace stated.
“The leaders will discuss additional ways to strengthen bilateral ties … especially the advancement of diplomatic and economic issues, with an emphasis on technology and innovation,” it stated in an announcement.
The two-day journey to Bahrain, dwelling to the US Navy’s Gulf headquarters, comes amid heightened tensions after missile assaults on the neighboring United Arab Emirates by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis. Israel additionally normalized ties with the UAE in 2020.
Speaking to reporters earlier than take-off, Bennett stated he hoped the go to can be a “message of goodwill … and a shared stance against common threats”.
Israel has stepped up cooperation with the Gulf states. Manama hosted Israel’s protection minister on Feb. 2 and has stated an Israeli navy officer can be posted in Bahrain as a part of a world coalition.
The outreach by Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim monarch has been criticized by an opposition led by the Shi’ite majority. The nation has seen protests in solidarity with the Palestinians.
There have been transient protests in a number of Shi’ite villages forward of Bennett’s go to, activists advised Reuters. Footage and photographs posted on Bahrain’s dissolved opposition group al-Wefaq’s social media accounts confirmed dozens of marching slogans, chanting slogans and holding up Bahraini flags.
Israel has provided to cooperate with its new Gulf companions on air protection, however has not specified whether or not this would possibly embrace promoting the short-range rocket interceptor Iron Dome.
Such gross sales prior to now have been subjected to questions of whether or not the programs can be safe and never be shared with Israel’s enemies. There has additionally been concern it will pose a industrial problem to US protection exports.
But a US official noticed no downside in Washington have been Israel to go forward with Iron Dome gross sales within the Gulf.
“There’s a lot of interest in Iron Dome” within the area, stated the official, who couldn’t be recognized by title.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
