OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Prime Minister
Naftali Bennett was set to fly to Bahrain on Monday for the first-ever official
visit by an Israeli head of government to the Gulf state.
اضافة اعلان
Bennett's visit is the latest following the
US-brokered 2020 Abraham Accords, which defied decades of Arab consensus that
ruled out ties in the absence of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
Bahrain and its close ally the
UAE became
only the third and fourth majority Arab states — following Egypt and Jordan —
to establish ties with Israel when they signed on to the pacts negotiated under
former US president Donald Trump.
Bennett was scheduled to meet Bahraini Crown
Prince and Prime Minister Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa as well as other top
officials, and representatives of Bahrain's Jewish community, his office
said.
The trip follows a visit to Manama by
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz earlier this month that saw the two
countries sign a defense agreement.
The deal covered intelligence,
procurement, and joint training, with Gantz boasting that it further solidified
the nascent diplomatic relationship.
The visit also comes at a time of regional
tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
Iran is engaged in negotiations with
Britain, China, France, Germany, and
Russia directly and with the US indirectly
to revive the deal formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
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