Fri 11 September 2020:
US President Donald Trump said Friday that Israel and Bahrain have agreed to the “establishment of full diplomatic relations,” marking it the second time in a month an Arab Gulf nation has announced new ties with Israel.
In a joint statement, the United States, Bahrain and Israel said the agreement was reached after Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on Friday.
“This is a historic breakthrough to further peace in the Middle East,” the statement reads.
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
The deal comes after Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced a similar agreement last month.
Bahrain will join Israel and the UAE for a signing ceremony at the White House on September 15, Trump told reporters on Friday.
“It’s unthinkable that this could happen and so fast,” he said about the Israel-Bahrain deal.
“We’re seeing the beginning of a new Middle East, and the president has really secured alliances and partners in trying to pursue that,” Kushner said.
In a Hebrew-language statement, Netanyahu said he was “moved” to announce the agreement with Bahrain, which he said “adds to the historic peace with the United Arab Emirates”.
Kushner, speaking to reporters in a call from the White House soon after the announcement, said the UAE and Bahrain agreements “will help reduce tension in the Muslim world and allow people to separate the Palestinian issue from their own national interests and from their foreign policy, which should be focused on their domestic priorities”.
Palestinian leaders have criticised Arab states for normalising ties with Israel while it continues its military occupation of Palestinian lands, saying such deals threaten to cement the status quo.
The Palestinian Liberation Organization said Friday that the Bahrain-Israel deal was “another treacherous stab to [the] Palestinian cause”.
