Bahrain–Israel relations
Bahrain |
Israel |
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Relations have existed between
History
Following their independence from the British rule in 1971, Bahrain became part of the Arab League boycott of Israel. Later on, Bahrain sent representatives to the Madrid Conference of 1991.[9]
The first official Israeli delegation to visit Bahrain was in late September 1994,
Bahrain abandoned its boycott of Israel in 2005, in exchange for a free trade agreement with the United States.[13] In September 2017, the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, denounced the Arab League boycott of Israel, saying that the kingdom's citizens were entitled to visit Israel, even though the two countries had no diplomatic relations.[14]
In October 2007, Bahrain Foreign Minister
Wikileaks
In 2011, amid
Normalization of relations
Following a video of a ceremony to mark the Jewish
In May 2018, Bahrain recognized Israel's right to exist. Manama authorities denied reports that this was due to tensions with Iran, and said the country remains committed to the Arab Peace Initiative.[18]
In June 2019, six Israeli media outlets received formal invitations to cover the Israeli-Palestinian economic peace workshop in Bahrain.[19] In July 2019, Foreign Minister of Bahrain, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, and his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, met in the United States.[20] In October 2019, an Israeli official, Dana Benvenisti-Gabay, attended the "Working Group on Maritime and Aviation Security" in Manama, Bahrain.[21] In December 2019, Jerusalem chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, visited Bahrain for an interfaith event.[22]
King Hamad told visiting US Secretary of State
In March 2021, Bahrain appointed Khaled Yousif al-Jalahma as its first ambassador to Israel. He arrived in Israel to take up his post at the end of August 2021.[28][29]
In September 2021, Israel opened a resident embassy in Manama.[30] In September 2023, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Manama and officially reopened Israel's new embassy to replace the first one.[31][32]
On 2 November 2023, in view of the ongoing
See also
References
- ^ "Bahrain foreign minister defends Australia's decision on Jerusalem". Reuters. 2018-12-16. Archived from the original on 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ "Bahrain minister calls for open communication with Israel". Gulf News. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ staff, T. O. I. "Jerusalem chief rabbi visits Bahrain for interfaith event". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ "Trump announces 'peace deal' between Bahrain and Israel". bbc.com. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "The Bahrain Conference: What the Experts and the Media Missed". Yale Insights. 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ Ahren, Raphael. "Bahrain FM to Times of Israel: Israel is here to stay, and we want peace with it". The Times of Israel. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ Ahren, Raphael; Alex; Fulbright. "Israel, Bahrain foreign ministers talk Iran in groundbreaking public meet". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ "Foreign Policy". Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Kingdom of Bahrain.
- ^ Joel Guzensky (April 2012). "Gulf States in a Changing Strategic Environment" (PDF). Institute for National Security Studies (in Hebrew). p. 117.
- ^ The Middle East and North Africa, Europa Publications Limited
- ^ "When Bahrain once welcomed Israelis". Haaretz.
- ^ Landler, Mark (12 September 2020). "Another Gulf State Recognizes Israel. Here's Why It Matters". The New York Times.
- ^ Ahren, Raphael (September 14, 2020). "Bahrain won't have to abolish Israel boycott law — because it did so years ago". The Times of Israel.
- ^ Lieber, Dov (September 18, 2017). "Bahrain's king opposes Arab boycott of Israel, Jewish leader says". The Times of Israel.
- ^ Ravid, Barak (20 February 2011). "WikiLeaks: Bahrain FM planned to meet Israeli officials in support of peace process". Haaretz. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ^ Melman, Yossi (8 April 2011). "Haaretz Wikileaks exclusive / Bahrain King boasted of intelligence ties with Israel". Haaretz. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ^ Tugend, Tom (17 September 2017). "Bahrain king denounces Arab boycott of Israel, says countrymen may visit". The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ "Bahrain denies Israel relations reports". gulfnews.com.
- ^ Ahren, Raphael (26 June 2019). "At economic peace summit, being an Israeli in Bahrain feels almost normal". The Times of Israel.
- ^ Ahren, Raphael. "After long wait, some Israeli news outlets okayed to cover Bahrain summit". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
- ^ "In rare formal visit, Israeli official attends anti-Iran conference in Bahrain". The Times of Israel. 21 October 2019.
- ^ "Jerusalem chief rabbi visits Bahrain for interfaith event, meets king". The Times of Israel. 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Bahrain rejects US push to normalize relations with Israel". Al Jazeera. Aug 26, 2020.
- ^ Magid, Jacob; Ahren, Raphael (September 11, 2020). "Bahrain establishing full diplomatic relations with Israel, Trump announces". The Times of Israel.
- ^ Crowley, Michael; Halbfinger, David M. (September 11, 2020). "Bahrain Will Normalize Relations With Israel, in Deal Brokered by Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Trump hails 'dawn of new Middle East' with UAE-Bahrain-Israel deals". BBC. 15 September 2020.
- ^ "Israel, Bahrain to sign document launching formal ties". The Jerusalem Post. 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Bahrain appoints ambassador to Israel following 2020 Abraham Accords". The Times of Israel. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ "First Bahraini ambassador to Israel arrives in country to take up post". The Times of Israel. 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
- ^ Berman, Lazar (30 September 2021). "Lapid inaugurates Israeli embassy in Bahrain". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ Hamad, Mohammed (2023-09-04). "Israel opens Bahrain embassy, three years after normalising ties". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
- ^ "Israel opens new embassy in Bahrain, agrees to boost trade relations". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
- ^ "Bahrain expels Israel ambassador and cuts economic ties". Arab News. November 2, 2023.
- ^ "Bahrain recalls ambassador from Israel, cuts economic ties over Gaza war: Parliament". gulfnews.com. November 2, 2023.
- ^ "Bahrain parliament says envoy to Israel returned home, Israel says ties stable". November 2, 2023 – via www.reuters.com.