Bahrain follows Emirates in normalizing ties with Israel

[rooster59]

Bahrain follows Emirates in normalizing ties with Israel

By Steve Holland, Dan Williams and Aziz El Yaakoubi

 

FILE PHOTO: Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa listens during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., September 16, 2019. REUTERS/Al Drago

 

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain joined the United Arab Emirates in agreeing to normalize relations with Israel on Friday, a move forged partly through shared fears of Iran but one that could leave the Palestinians further isolated.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump posted the announcement on Twitter after he spoke by phone, according to the White House, to Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

 

"This is truly a historic day," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, saying he believed other countries would follow suit.

 

"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 United States, Bahrain and Israel said in a joint statement.

 

Palestinians were dismayed, fearing the moves by Bahrain and its fellow Gulf Arab state, the United Arab Emirates, will weaken a longstanding pan-Arab position that calls for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory and acceptance of Palestinian statehood in return for normal relations with Arab countries.

 

A month ago, the UAE agreed to normalize ties with Israel under a U.S.-brokered deal scheduled to be signed at a White House ceremony on Tuesday hosted by Trump, who is seeking re-election on Nov. 3.

 

The ceremony is due to be attended by Netanyahu and Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

The joint statement said Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani will join that ceremony and sign a "historic Declaration of Peace" with Netanyahu.

 

Netanyahu said Bahrain's decision marks a "new era of peace."

 

"For many long years, we invested in peace, and now peace will invest in us, will bring about truly major investments in Israel's economy," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

 

Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hend al-Otaiba congratulated Bahrain and Israel, saying it marked "another significant and historic achievement which will contribute enormously to the stability and prosperity of the region."

 

Bahrain, a small island state, is home to the U.S. Navy's regional headquarters. Saudi Arabia in 2011 sent troops to Bahrain to help quell an uprising and, alongside Kuwait and the UAE, in 2018 offered Bahrain a $10 billion economic bailout.

 

Bahrain became the fourth Arab country to reach such an agreement with Israel, which exchanged embassies with Egypt and Jordan decades ago.

 

A statement issued in the name of the Palestinian leadership condemned the agreement as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.

 

"The Palestinian leadership rejects this step taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain and calls on it to immediately retreat from it due to the great harm it causes to the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and joint Arab action," the statement said.

 

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the Palestinian ambassador to Bahrain was called back for consultations.

 

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said Bahrain's decision to normalize relations with Israel "represents a grave harm to the Palestinian cause, and it supports the occupation."

 

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a special adviser on international affairs for the speaker of Iran's parliament, called Bahrain's decision a great betrayal to the Islamic cause and Palestinians.

 

"The imprudent leaders in UAE, #Bahrain must not pave the way for the Zionist schemes," the official tweeted.

 

EYES ON SAUDI

 

The forging of relations with Israel is happening against a backdrop of shared fears about the threat that Iran may pose to the region. The biggest question now is whether Saudi Arabia, one of the Middle East's most influential countries and a close U.S. ally, will follow suit.

 

Trump's administration has tried to coax other Sunni Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, to engage with Israel. Saudi Arabia, a key Sunni rival to Shi'ite Iran, has so far signaled it is not ready.

 

The agreements are taking place as Republican Trump trails Democratic challenger Joe Biden in several opinion polls ahead of the U.S. election. Foreign policy has not figured prominently in the election campaign, but Trump is eager to present himself as a peacemaker even as he rattles sabers against Iran.

 

Trump's pro-Israel moves have been seen, in part, as an effort to bolster his appeal to evangelical Christian voters, an important segment of his political base.

 

Zaha Hassan, a visiting fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Bahrain's move was "especially disturbing" to Palestinians.

 

"This move could not happen without a Saudi green light," she added. "(Saudi Arabia) is under pressure to normalize, but cannot because of its position as the custodian of Islam's holy places and the unpopularity of it on the street level.

Bahrain was offered up as a consolation that will keep Saudi Arabia in Trump's good graces."

 

At the Arab League on Wednesday, the Palestinians sought but did not obtain a condemnation of the UAE-Israel accord from fellow members. They did secure renewed Saudi support for their right to statehood.

 

The Saudi embassy in Washington did not respond to queries on whether its ambassador would attend Tuesday's ceremony.

 

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the agreement between Bahrain and Israel "excellent news."

 

Stopping short of endorsing the agreement, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Israel needs to halt actions that "undermine the two-state solution."

 

Last week, Bahrain said it would allow flights between Israel and the UAE to use its airspace. This followed a Saudi decision to allow an Israeli commercial airliner to fly over it on the way to the UAE.

 

The United States, Israel and the UAE have urged Palestinian leaders to re-engage with Israel. Negotiations last broke down between Israelis and Palestinians in 2014, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to have political dealings with the Trump White House for more than two years, accusing it of pro-Israel bias.

 

(Additional reporting by Dan Williams, Alexander Cornwell, Lisa Barrington, Rami Ayyub, Ali Sawafta, Nidal al-Mughrabi, Matt Spetalnick and Nandita Bose; Editing by Nick Tattersall/ Stephen Farrell and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-09-12

 

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[pegman]

So what weapons does this dictator get to suppress his people in exchange for this meaningless jesture?

[Tagged]

I believe the treathy is more about Iran, than the friendship with Israel. 

[ukrules]

Can a President win 2 Nobel prizes? ????

[ezzra]

18 minutes ago, pegman said:

So what weapons does this dictator get to suppress his people in exchange for this meaningless jesture?

What is up with you mate that you seems to see only the downside into two foes making peace? what is wrong with that i ask you? the fact that another arab country saw the light and realized that supporting the Palestinians for the last 70 years did not get them anywhere? and how long before the Palestinians themselves will realized that time waits for no one and soon they will be left alone there, as the old saying goes: if you can't beat them join them...

[Tug]

Looks like the little guys are falling in line wonder what’s the hook........protection??ot lack of??

Edited September 11, 2020 by Tug

[Thailand]

Despite the "recognition" you can bet there is going to be other conditions that somewhere down the line Israel will have to return land, recognise some Palestinian claims otherwise this is simply talk without substance.

[dexterm]

Another unelected Gulf dictator who imprisons, tortures and murders any dissenters endorses the racist state of Israel's brutal 53 year old occupation of indigenous Palestinians in apartheid conditions. So nothing new there then. Birds of a feather.

 

I have no doubt these announcements have been orchestrated in sequence by Trump to help his re-election bid. Oman will probably be the next dictatorship to fall in line. The fact that Trump tried to score some cheap political points by linking this to the victims of the terrorist attack on 9/11 is disgusting.

 

How Netanyahu can say with a straight face "For many long years, we invested in peace, " [OP] when the Arab Peace Initiative with the globally accepted formula for an end to the entire conflict, that UAE and Bahrain have just reneged on, has been on the table since 2002 which Netanyahu has studiously ignored. The only way Israel will have permanent peace is if it addresses the problem of the huge elephant in the room..4.5 million indigenous Palestinians living under a barbaric occupation by a racist Zionist regime.

 

I will be adding Gulf Air, Emirates, and Etihad to my BDS boycott list. I will not help finance their backstabbing of Palestinian rights as a matter of principle and not least because there is now an increased security risk flying them.

Edited September 12, 2020 by dexterm

[Boon Mee]

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

Can a President win 2 Nobel prizes? ????

Hang on, he's only getting started! ???? 

 

[Puchaiyank]

Oh, no, don't tell the Norwegians!

[dexterm]

2 hours ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

Israel and most everybody else who matter probably don’t care about a two-state agreement anymore because the “Palestinians” have no interest in it. Their only position is either direct or indirect collapse of Israel altogether. 
 

But anyway haters gonna hate.  

Palestinians want an end to the racist supremacist ideology of Zionism, and so do I. They recognised Israel's right to exist over 30 years ago. They are still waiting for Israel to reciprocate.

 

If only you were partly right, and the Palestinians did push for an end to apartheid with a single state solution with equal rights for all, just watch Israel then rush to the negotiating table begging for two separate states.

 

If Trump wins the election, his ridiculous deal of the century will lead to a single state...good. 
If Biden and Harris win they may be able to bring Israel to its senses to negotiate a two state solution based on the 2002 Peace Initiative... also good.

[dexterm]

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

Can a President win 2 Nobel prizes? ????

The Nobel Peace Prize was not intended to reward a narcissistic lunatic who facilitates a nefarious deal between dictators and fascists, so that they can all continue suppressing human rights. Just might somehow demean the award.

Edited September 12, 2020 by dexterm

[ezzra]

18 minutes ago, dexterm said:

Palestinians want an end to the racist supremacist ideology of Zionism, and so do I. They recognised Israel's right to exist over 30 years ago. They are still waiting for Israel to reciprocate.

 

Israel HAS reciprocated when PM Barak and president Clinton offed the Arafat and the  Palestinian something like 95% !!! of land to establish a Palestinian state which Arafat has flatly refused,

The Palestinian don't want peace they're only posing and pestering as if they want but their happy to be stuck for ever as the poor needy always crying for help LOOSERS....

[Morch]

3 hours ago, pegman said:

So what weapons does this dictator get to suppress his people in exchange for this meaningless jesture?

 

Bahrain buys arms from all over the over the world - USA, Europe, UK, Turkey, even a bit from Russia. Kinda doubt they would pander to Trump's wishes just to get stuff they already have and can get elsewhere. What this is about is Iran, and the USA diplomatically cashing in on protection services. If there is some attached arms deals, I would expect them to be more about aircraft and air/naval defense, both not traditionally used to "suppress" people.

 

 

[Morch]

3 hours ago, Tug said:

Looks like the little guys are falling in line wonder what’s the hook........protection??ot lack of??

 

The "little guys" got a problem with their neighbor across the Gulf. The USA provides protection, and cashes in, when it suits, in diplomatic and economic coin. Given the Gulf states' current situation, there's simply more room for leverage compared with past times. This particular "little guy" also have another problem, in that about half of the Muslim population are Shia (Iran's brand of Islam), whereas the rulers are Sunni. 

[Poet]

Everyone, regardless of politics, should celebrate the normalization of relations between countries in that godforsaken region. This is the World's other cold war, based on politics that became redundant decades ago and barely-veiled anti-semitism. We should all celebrate its thawing.

Of course, as with anything involving Trump, and especially with the election weeks away, many will rush to distort what this means. So, let me put this into practical terms:

It will be possible for regular citizens to fly directly between Bahrain and Israel.

It will allow businesses to trade. It will allow universities and scientists to share research.

It will allow farmers to benefit from better technology and grow more food.

It will allow those will cancer to benefit from the best medical care in the region.

Most of all, it will allow people to interact with their supposed long-time enemies and see that they, too, are humans.

Like any other countries, the Emirates and Bahrain have problems but they evolving and improving over time. This agreement is part of that. They are tearing down a matrix of nonsense based on propaganda, hysteria, and fear.

They are going to interact with neighboring countries on their own terms, not on the basis of what the Iranians say.

They are not going to remain on a permanent war footing to accommodate the needs of the Palestinian leadership who, from all parties and in all decades, have been outrageously corrupt and always made the worst decisions for the Palestinian people. During years when their economy constantly teetered on the brink of collapse, Yasser Arafat accumulated over $3 billion, and the current lunatics are even worse.

Ignore those who rush to attack this because Trump's people engineered it. This is bigger than the petty politics of America. What has been achieved is already momentous but if Saudi does come onboard it will be truly historic, and pretty much every country in the region except for Iran will follow. Bang! Middle-East peace: Achieved.

Sure, at that point there isn't really any way to avoid giving Trump the Nobel, and, yeah, sure, the horrified reactions in the American media will be quality entertainment. The bigger point, however, is that, at last, something truly good is happening in 2020. Treasure that.

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by Poet

[Morch]

3 hours ago, Thailand said:

Despite the "recognition" you can bet there is going to be other conditions that somewhere down the line Israel will have to return land, recognise some Palestinian claims otherwise this is simply talk without substance.

 

I don't think that, in this particular case, there are any such extra conditions on top of those attached to UAE agreement. Bahrain is a lightweight compared to the UAE, and it's leverage is relatively limited.

 

The agreement with the UAE included Israel dropping (Netanyahu claims "temporarily", but he plays for his base) the annexation drive, and the UAE getting a bunch of shiny new weapons. Other than that, I do not believe that there were other concrete or binding constraints mentioned

[Morch]

3 hours ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

Israel and most everybody else who matter probably don’t care about a two-state agreement anymore because the “Palestinians” have no interest in it. Their only position is either direct or indirect collapse of Israel altogether. 
 

But anyway haters gonna hate.  

 

Who, in your opinion, are "most everybody who matter", in this regard? As for Israel's positions, it's sort of like most places, not a hive-mind. There are differing views, there are nuances, there's an opposition. If you somehow imagine that it's only the Palestinians having "no interest", guess you are either uninformed or intentionally ignoring facts and reality.

[Scott]

Troll post removed along with replies.   Please don't feed the trolls.

 

[riclag]

The best no wars President ever!

Trump Pence 2020

 

"For many long years, we invested in peace, and now peace will invest in us, will bring about truly major investments in Israel's economy," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Edited September 12, 2020 by riclag

[Thorgal]

30 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

Bahrain buys arms from all over the over the world - USA, Europe, UK, Turkey, even a bit from Russia. Kinda doubt they would pander to Trump's wishes just to get stuff they already have and can get elsewhere. What this is about is Iran, and the USA diplomatically cashing in on protection services. If there is some attached arms deals, I would expect them to be more about aircraft and air/naval defense, both not traditionally used to "suppress" people.

 

 

The sunni Khalifas have always been protected by the US and British empire.

 

The majority of Bahraini's are Shia. It's even known that Sunni and Shia popular and religious alliance in Bahrain is a fact.

There's no Iranian menace. There are only protection services from the US and the British empire for the Khalifas.

 

 And yes, Bahraini local economy is dependent on the US petrodollar.

[Morch]

 

@dexterm

 

Another day, another rant. And yet another whine about unelected dictators, and human rights violations - issues that are less disturbing for poster if unelected dictators in question fall in line with his agenda and politics, or if they are Palestinian. Coming from a self-proclaimed "humanist", its as hypocritical as it gets. 

 

There is nothing in this agreement, or others, which "endorses" the Israeli occupation and/or treatment of the Palestinians. Following your "reasoning", most countries in the world "endorse" the same things, what with having full relations with Israel.

 

Trump using these diplomatic maneuvers to bolster his campaign? Sure. But that's pretty standard for many politicians near elections time. I doubt that your objection to such things is principled, or that you had issues with these when they were more inline with your agenda and politics.

 

Netanyahu can say pretty much anything with a straight face. That's what he does. He's way better at it than Trump, too. Feigning surprise or outrage over his statements is fine, but he's been at it for years, so should be familiar by now.

 

The Arab Peace Initiative was not accepted by all Palestinians. Hamas rejected and still rejects it. Also, it is only in your rants that conditions in the ME remained the same since it was aired. Those more attached to reality may notice some of the countries involved are not in any position or state to uphold things now: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq - or even the Palestinians themselves, are either too divided or at a disarray. You try real hard to paint it as solely being up to Israel, but it is not so.

 

Your imaginary boycott claims are amusing, while not being believable or even rational. Other than that, I kinda doubt the sort of advocacy is allowed on here. Security risks? How come? In your version of reality the Palestinians and their supporters aren't into this sort of thing.

[Thorgal]

20 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

I don't think that, in this particular case, there are any such extra conditions on top of those attached to UAE agreement. Bahrain is a lightweight compared to the UAE, and it's leverage is relatively limited.

 

The agreement with the UAE included Israel dropping (Netanyahu claims "temporarily", but he plays for his base) the annexation drive, and the UAE getting a bunch of shiny new weapons. Other than that, I do not believe that there were other concrete or binding constraints mentioned

 

Israeli borders are too small for military defensive purposes.

Land annexation on the West Bank and Golan Heights were actually a military must.

 

It's rather naive to make people believe that the Palestinians will occupy again their West bank and the military strategical Jordan Valley under the Israeli Peace Deal of the Century proposed by the US.

[Morch]

1 hour ago, dexterm said:

Palestinians want an end to the racist supremacist ideology of Zionism, and so do I. They recognised Israel's right to exist over 30 years ago. They are still waiting for Israel to reciprocate.

 

If only you were partly right, and the Palestinians did push for an end to apartheid with a single state solution with equal rights for all, just watch Israel then rush to the negotiating table begging for two separate states.

 

If Trump wins the election, his ridiculous deal of the century will lead to a single state...good. 
If Biden and Harris win they may be able to bring Israel to its senses to negotiate a two state solution based on the 2002 Peace Initiative... also good.

 

You continue to mislead by intentionally ignoring there is no such general Palestinian position. You want to ignore Hamas? Islamic Jihad? Elements within the Fatah? Go right ahead. Fact and truth, it ain't.

 

You also continue to ignore the fact that the one-state solution you push is not popular with either side. And that there is little reason to believe it could be achieved, anyway. Harping on this won't make facts agree with your narrative.

 

Trump's plan will eventually run into a wall, as it is doubtful Arab countries would go the extra mile and completely ignore the Palestinian issue, or accept further major Israeli transgressions. A Biden/Harris administration is more likely to return to the same old ways, essentially implying a standstill. Doubt that their focus would be on the ME, given how much fixing is required at home and in more important places.

[Morch]

1 hour ago, dexterm said:

The Nobel Peace Prize was not intended to reward a narcissistic lunatic who facilitates a nefarious deal between dictators and fascists, so that they can all continue suppressing human rights. Just might somehow demean the award.

 

You are quite capable of putting up with dictators and human rights violations, so long as they support the Palestinian in a manner fitting your agenda and politics. You do not even have all that many issues with the Palestinian leaderships acting in a similar way.

[dexterm]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

Israel HAS reciprocated when PM Barak and president Clinton offed the Arafat and the  Palestinian something like 95% !!! of land to establish a Palestinian state which Arafat has flatly refused,

The Palestinian don't want peace they're only posing and pestering as if they want but their happy to be stuck for ever as the poor needy always crying for help LOOSERS....

Disinformation
Based on the Israeli definition of the West Bank, Barak offered to form a Palestinian state initially on 73% of the West Bank (that is, 27% less than the Green Line borders) and 100% of the Gaza Strip. In 10–25 years, the Palestinian state would expand to a maximum of 92% of the West Bank (91 percent of the West Bank and 1 percent from a land swap).[4][6] From the Palestinian perspective this equated to an offer of a Palestinian state on a maximum of 86% of the West Bank.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Camp_David_Summit#Territory

No deal was made at that round of peace talks. Israel did not recognize a Palestinian state. Pity Israel could not concede the rightful 100% including landswaps. They already got to keep all the land they grabbed beyond the Mandate in 1947. But of course they wanted even more. Still do.

 

Yes, the Palestinians are poor and needy, and Israel as the occupying power has a duty of care under the Geneva Convention to look after them. If Israel ended apartheid and made Palestinians equal citizens they could all prosper and pay taxes.

Edited September 12, 2020 by dexterm

[Morch]

43 minutes ago, Poet said:

Everyone, regardless of politics, should celebrate the normalization of relations between countries in that godforsaken region. This is the World's other cold war, based on politics that became redundant decades ago and barely-veiled anti-semitism. We should all celebrate its thawing.

Of course, as with anything involving Trump, and especially with the election weeks away, many will rush to distort what this means. So, let me put this into practical terms:

It will be possible for regular citizens to fly directly between Bahrain and Israel.

It will allow businesses to trade. It will allow universities and scientists to share research.

It will allow farmers to benefit from better technology and grow more food.

It will allow those will cancer to benefit from the best medical care in the region.

Most of all, it will allow people to interact with their supposed long-time enemies and see that they, too, are humans.

Like any other countries, the Emirates and Bahrain have problems but they evolving and improving over time. This agreement is part of that. They are tearing down a matrix of nonsense based on propaganda, hysteria, and fear.

They are going to interact with neighboring countries on their own terms, not on the basis of what the Iranians say.

They are not going to remain on a permanent war footing to accommodate the needs of the Palestinian leadership who, from all parties and in all decades, have been outrageously corrupt and always made the worst decisions for the Palestinian people. During years when their economy constantly teetered on the brink of collapse, Yasser Arafat accumulated over $3 billion, and the current lunatics are even worse.

Ignore those who rush to attack this because Trump's people engineered it. This is bigger than the petty politics of America. What has been achieved is already momentous but if Saudi does come onboard it will be truly historic, and pretty much every country in the region except for Iran will follow. Bang! Middle-East peace: Achieved.

Sure, at that point there isn't really any way to avoid giving Trump the Nobel, and, yeah, sure, the horrified reactions in the American media will be quality entertainment. The bigger point, however, is that, at last, something truly good is happening in 2020. Treasure that.

 

 

 

Even if all the Arab countries would come onboard, it would still not do away with the issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians. There may be a greater degree of peace, and regional cooperation, sure. But the problem will remain. I doubt that there are other ways of addressing it other than sides negotiating.

 

You want to engage in your usual Trump adulation, go right ahead. So far, things aren't quite Nobel Prize material yet, and Middle East Peace is not "achieved", nor is it much closer to being achieved.

 

It's a good development, yes. It's a step in the right way, ok. Making it into something monumental or try painting it as more than it is, that's just campaign talk.

[Morch]

28 minutes ago, riclag said:

The best no wars President ever!

Trump Pence 2020

 

"For many long years, we invested in peace, and now peace will invest in us, will bring about truly major investments in Israel's economy," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

 

Could you describe or detail in which way this investment in peace was manifested? Or do you just take Netanyahu's words for granted, at face value?

[Morch]

28 minutes ago, Thorgal said:

The sunni Khalifas have always been protected by the US and British empire.

 

The majority of Bahraini's are Shia. It's even known that Sunni and Shia popular and religious alliance in Bahrain is a fact.

There's no Iranian menace. There are only protection services from the US and the British empire for the Khalifas.

 

 And yes, Bahraini local economy is dependent on the US petrodollar.

 

That you do deny Iran's is seen as a potential threat by the rulers of Bahrain, doesn't make it so. If there was no such perceived threat, the "protection services" would not be a thing.

[Morch]

17 minutes ago, Thorgal said:

 

Israeli borders are too small for military defensive purposes.

Land annexation on the West Bank and Golan Heights were actually a military must.

 

It's rather naive to make people believe that the Palestinians will occupy again their West bank and the military strategical Jordan Valley under the Israeli Peace Deal of the Century proposed by the US.

 

I doubt your prowess as a strategist or being a military expert. There is no military "must" as you describe. Israel's basic strategy is not founded on long term defense anyway. 

 

Other than that, not sure what your post had to do with mine.