Iran Press/ Middle East: “Hosting and greeting the Zionists at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, which is to be held in Bahrain, is a bold step on a dishonorable path; that of humiliation, capitulation and shamelessness,” Shaikh Issa Ghasem said in a statement.
The top cleric said the Israeli regime tops the list of the Muslim world’s enemies, Press TV reported.
He added that Manama’s plan to take the Israelis was in line with its attempts to compromise and normalize ties with the enemy, with which Bahrain – like most other Arab countries -- has no open diplomatic contacts.
This is a clear sign of the Manama regime’s disregard for Islam and the will of the nation, said Shaikh Ghasem, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s dissolved opposition bloc the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, who had his citizenship revoked in 2016 as part of the Al Khalifah regime’s suppression campaign against dissidents.
“It is an open confrontation with our nation and a fierce battle against our existence,” he added.
The planned visit has triggered a backlash among Bahraini lawmakers, who have stressed their support for the Palestinian cause and voiced their opposition to the hosting of Israel's representatives in their country.
Israel has full diplomatic ties with only two Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, but latest reports suggest the regime is working behind the scenes to establish formal contacts with Saudi Arabia and its allies, one of them being Bahrain.
Israel and several Arab states have had secret contacts for years, but the two sides have stepped up their attempts to bring their clandestine relations out into the open.105
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