MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahrain’s parliament said on Thursday the Gulf nation’s ambassador to Israel had returned home and economic ties had been suspended over protests over the Gaza war.
However, the government did not confirm the move, and Israel said it had not received any communication about such an action and said relations with Bahrain were “stable.”
Parliament, a non-authorized advisory body in the field of foreign policy, said in a statement that the move “confirms Bahrain’s historic position in support of the Palestinian cause.”
“The House of Representatives confirms that the Ambassador of Israel to the Kingdom of Bahrain has left Bahrain and that the Kingdom of Bahrain has decided to return the Ambassador of Bahrain to Israel,” the parliament said in a statement.
“A decision has also been made to suspend economic relations,” he said, without specifying who made the decision.
Reuters could not immediately confirm whether the two envoys had returned to their home countries.
“We would like to clarify that we have not received any notification or decision from the Bahraini or Israeli governments regarding the return of their ambassadors. Relations between Israel and Bahrain are stable,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The parliamentary statement was not reported by Saudi state television or the state news agency.
If confirmed, the suspension of diplomatic and economic relations would be a significant setback for Israel.
Abraham Accords
Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, is a signatory to the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries signed in 2020.
Last month, at an investment conference in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain’s Finance Minister Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said in response to a question about the Abraham Accords that it was important to continue building bridges.
Days earlier, Bahrain’s Minister of Commerce, Abdullah bin Adel Fakhroh, declined to comment when asked about the status of trade and investment relations with Israel at a conference in Abu Dhabi in October.
The latest war in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on October 7 when Hamas militants breached the border. Israel says Hamas has killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and taken more than 200 hostages.
Subsequent Israeli shelling of the small Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people killed at least 9,601 people, including 3,760 children, according to Gaza health authorities.
Bahrain is a small island in the Gulf, where the Sunni Muslim Al-Khalifa royal family, allied with Saudi Arabia, controls the majority Shiite population.
Analysts say improved relations with Israel were built in part on a shared fear of Iran.
Bahrain’s parliament consists of the Council of Representatives and the Shura Council, which consists of 40 members appointed by the King.
Reporting by Mohamed Hamad in Manama and Ahmed Elimam and Alexander Cornwell in Dubai.Written by: Maha El Dahan Edited by: Gareth Jones
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