Iran Press/ Middle East: Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Thursday that he would be the first Israeli head of state to travel to Bahrain with a visit to the kingdom planned during a tour of the Persian Gulf next month.
The Israeli regime normalized diplomatic relations with Bahrain, UAE, and Morroco two years ago under US sponsorship.
The move sparked Muslims’ anger, who called it a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
Bahrain already hosted an Israeli regime’s prime minister earlier this year when Naftali Bennett made a two-day visit to Manama, highlighting an increasing Israeli presence in the Persian Gulf amid tensions with regional power Iran.
The presidency of the regime in Tel Aviv is largely a ceremonial post, but Herzog has assumed a more prominent role since there has not been a stable government for several years.
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came out on top in a parliamentary election earlier this month, the regime’s fifth in less than four years, but he has yet to form a government.
According to his office, Herzog will visit Bahrain on Sunday at the invitation of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. He will then travel to the UAE to meet President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
A Thursday report from the Israeli Channel 12 said the regime’s spy agency Shin Bet had decided to boost Herzog’s security detail for the trip following an online social media campaign from Bahraini opposition activists.
The people of Bahrain protested the visit of Herzog to Manama by raising the flags of Bahrain and Palestine and chanting anti-Zionist slogans.
Ahmad Kharis, the senior official with the PLO’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in an interview with Iran Press, said the head of the Israeli regime’s visit to Bahrain is a move towards the normalization of relations and a blow to the Palestinians.
He emphasized that the Arab regimes should carefully examine their political positions and stop the normalization of relations with the Israeli regime, which harms the interests of Bahrain and all Arabs.
Kharis pointed out that the only result of the normalization of relations with the Israeli regime for Bahrain and other Arab countries is destruction because the occupying regime only seeks more plunder and control of the resources of the Arab nations.
214
Read More:
Israeli officials visited Doha for talks over World Cup
Biden aims normalization of Saudi-Israeli ties in visit to Riyadh
