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Bahrainis Speak Out Against ’Betrayal’ of Palestinians in Normalization With Israel
Jack KhouryNoa Landau and Reuters | Published on 12.09.2020
▻https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/bahraini-opposition-slam-betrayal-of-palestinians-in-israel-normalization-d

A day after Trump announces a second Gulf state has agreed to establish relations with Israel, local intellectuals and rights activists blast the move ■ Israeli officials say embassy to open soon
Intellectuals and human rights activists in Bahrain expressed Saturday their fierce opposition to the kingdom’s move to normalize ties with Israel, saying the decision is a “betrayal” of the Palestinian people.

Israel and Bahrain announced the decision on Friday in a joint statement along with the United States. The agreement will be signed on Tuesday in Washington, senior officials in Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that the ministry will soon open an embassy in Manama.

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi spoke on Saturday with his Bahraini counterpart Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani in a phonecall and “exchanged friendly talks on the occasion of the peace declaration.” The two ministers also “stressed the need to move these relations forward in all aspects in a way that serves the mutual interests and promotes peace and stability in the region,” said the Bahrain Foreign Ministry in a statement.

A Shia majority country ruled by a Sunni minority, Bahrain is experiencing more popular opposition to the deal with Israel than the UAE. After the move was announced, Palestinian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Husam Zomlot said that “Bahrainis against normalization” was trending high on Bahraini Twitter.

Organizations representing the Shia majority in the kingdom, which make up 70 percent of the Bahraini population, rejected to move to establish ties with Israel.

Bahrain’s opposition umbrella group, the al-Wefaq political association, condemned the move and called it “betrayal.” In addition, the group said that the Bahraini regime is illegitimate, dubbing Israel an illegitimate entity."

The organization, which is illegal in Bahrain, but is very influential there, said in a statement that it opposes the normalization with Israel due to its support for the Palestinian people. (...)

Behind the scenes of the U.S.-brokered Israel-Bahrain agreement
Sep 11, 2020 - Barak Ravid
▻https://www.axios.com/behind-scenes-us-brokered-bahrain-israel-deal-44d1a7d3-a93c-4eee-970e-1e354f3

Hours after the August 13 announcement of the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, senior Bahraini officials called President Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House envoy Avi Berkowitz with a message: “We want to be next,” U.S. officials involved in the talks tell me.

Why it matters: Israel and Bahrain had a secret relationship for over two decades, meaning neither country had diplomatic relations and most of their contacts were through covert talks behind the scenes. However the talks which led to the joint statement on establishing full diplomatic relations took just 29 days.

The state of play: Sources familiar with the talks told me that starting August 13, intense discussions between the U.S., Bahrain and Israel started. Other than Berkowitz and Kushner, several other U.S. officials were involved in the talks including: National security adviser Robert O’Brien, Iran envoy Brian Hook, national security council Middle East director General Miguel Correa, White House official Adam Boehler and U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman. (...)