The Foreign Minister of Israel has arrived in Bahrain for a highest-level official Israeli visit to the Gulf state, whereas, the Israeli forces kill a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank village of Burqin and a woman in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Israeli foreign ministry statement said that Yair Lapid upon invitation from his Bahraini counterpart would inaugurate the Israeli embassy in Manama on Thursday and is “expected to sign a list of bilateral agreements”.
The statement said, “This will be the first official visit by an Israeli minister to (Bahrain).”
After Lapid landed, Bahrain carrier Gulf Air launched its first direct flight between Manama and Tel Aviv.
The Israeli delegation to Bahrain arrived earlier this week and joined the country’s tiny Jewish community in marking the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.
Lior Haiat, the spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said it was the first time in over 75 years that the community could mark the holiday in its synagogue.
Haiat added, “The fact that we could celebrate it yesterday was a very joyful event for us and for the community as well,”
Meanwhile in Palestine, a man is killed early on Thursday who is identified as 22-year-old Alaa Nasser Mohammed Zayyoud from the village of al-Silah al-Harithiya, northwest Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. The second Palestinian killed by Israeli forces was identified as 30-year-old Israa Khuzaima, a mother of three, from the village of Qabatiya south of Jenin.
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli forces killed 5 Palestinians during armed confrontations in overnight military raids in Jenin and Jerusalem. Two Palestinians from Burqin were killed, including a 16-year-old child, while three others from the village of Biddu were killed in the nearby village of Beit Anan northwest of Jerusalem.
The normalization of relations between Israel and Bahrain has left the Palestinians infuriated, who felt a betrayal of their national cause. They saw it as an abandonment of a longstanding commitment in the Arab world not to normalize relations with Israel until there was progress in resolving the decades-long occupation of Palestinian land.
Following negotiations headed by former US President Donald Trump, the United Arab Emirates, who was followed quickly by Bahrain and Morocco, became the first Arab states in decades to normalize ties with Israel.
Protesters burned tires on the outskirts of Manama early Thursday, sending clouds of black smoke into the air, and the #BahrainRejectsZionists in Arabic were circulating on social media. The opposition activists have called for further protests against the meeting.
Since the normalization agreement which is known as the Abraham Accords was signed the ties between Israel and its new Gulf partners have been extended through direct flights and economic deals.
Lapid the main architect of the Israeli coalition government has also visited UAE and Morocco since becoming foreign minister in June.
