JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel’s foreign minister began a visit to Bahrain on Sunday to commemorate the third anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
It was Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s first visit to one of the four countries that normalized diplomatic relations with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords brokered by the United States. Israel’s far-right government took office in December.
Cohen was scheduled to travel to Bahrain earlier this summer, but the visit has been postponed. Israeli media reported that the delay was due to a visit to parliament by Israel’s ultranationalist Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir. contested sacred place In Jerusalem.
Cohen was met at the airport by Abdullatif Al Zayani, a Bahraini national. On Monday, he is scheduled to meet with Bahraini leaders and open a new embassy in Israel.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed a diplomatic normalization agreement with Israel in September 2020, becoming the first of the four countries to join the United Arab Emirates. Abraham Accordsmediated by then-President Donald Trump.
Israel’s relations with the Arab world have cooled under the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, largely due to its hardline policies toward the Palestinians.
The Biden administration is negotiating a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.