Bahrain FM to meet with Netanyahu, Pompeo in Jerusalem this week

The cabinet ratified the normalization deal with Bahrain on Sunday.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani will visit Israel for the first time on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday.

Al-Zayani is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is set to be in Israel from Wednesday through Friday.

It is still unclear if Israel and Bahrain will sign agreements during Al-Zayani’s visit, though Jerusalem seeks to start direct flights between the countries as soon as possible.

The cabinet ratified the normalization deal with Bahrain on Sunday.

“This is the product of a continuous effort that we have led over the years, an effort to expand the circle of peace, an effort to bring true peace, an effort to bring peace for peace,” Netanyahu said at the start of the meeting.
Last month, the government ratified a similar deal with the United Arab Emirates.

Both deals were brokered by US President Donald Trump’s administration under the rubric of its Abraham Accords. A third deal with Sudan was advanced, as well.

“The establishment of peaceful relations and normalization with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan constitutes a vast achievement for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

He thanked Trump, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and everyone who assisted – openly and covertly – in realizing these “historic moves.”
Pompeo is expected to discuss the accords, Iran and China with Netanyahu on his visit.

He is also expected to visit the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia during his regional trip, which ends on November 23.

During a briefing with reporters prior to the trip, which began on Saturday with a stop in France, State Department officials said the Trump administration was still eyeing more deals.

Media reports have indicated that Pompeo may visit the Psagot Winery, which is located in the Sha’ar Binyamin Industrial Park in the West Bank, as well as Jesus’s baptismal site in the Jordan Valley and the Golan. The Jerusalem Post has confirmed that Pompeo is indeed weighing a visit to the winery.

The State Department declined to comment on the details of Pompeo’s visit.