Bahrain Claims Deal with Israel Supports Two-State Solution

Bahrain's monarch said that the standardization agreement between his kingdom and Israel should lead to greater efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli dispute through a two-state solution.

Addressing the 75th United Nations General Assembly via video on Thursday, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa called for “intensified efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in accordance with the two-state solution … leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative”.

King Hamad also said ties with Israel are a “refined message” for peace, reports Al Jazeera.

“The declaration to establish relations with Israel is a refined message emphasising that our hands are outstretched for fair and comprehensive peace,” he said.

Hamad's remarks came the day after the first visit of Israeli diplomats to Bahrain by an Israeli official delegation after both countries signed the normalisation agreement.

On September 15 at the White House, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signed normalisation agreements with Israel, part of a US diplomatic drive as Donald Trump seeks re-election.

However, as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause, the Palestinian leadership has condemned the agreements.

Several Israeli and US top officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, have stated over the past few weeks and after the UAE and Bahrain dealings with Israel that the Israeli annexation proposal had only been delayed, not scrapped.

Hamad also praised the efforts of the United States to achieve "peace and stability in the region" by brokering Israel's agreements, saying it sent "a civilized message ... as the strongest guarantee for the future of all the peoples of the region."

Civil society organisations in Bahrain have criticized the normalization of relations with Israel, arguing that recognition can come only after an independent state has been achieved by the Palestinians.