Bahrain formally appoints first ambassador to occupation state
Manama (QNN)- Bahrain announced on Tuesday that it had officially appointed its first ambassador to the occupation state of ‘Israel’, following normalizing ties last year.
Bahraini state media said that Khaled Yousif al-Jalahama would serve as Bahrain’s envoy to the occupation state.
Al-Jalahama previously served as the deputy ambassador to the United States and had also held several other senior positions in the Bahraini diplomatic service.
HM King receives Head of diplomatic mission to #Israel https://t.co/f6juNkeRPr pic.twitter.com/phFPYTKuuy
— وزارة الخارجية 🇧🇭 (@bahdiplomatic) June 29, 2021
Last March, Bahrain and ‘Israel’ announced the appointment of the first-ever ambassador from Manama to the occupation state.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi also approved the announcement.
“The Bahraini government’s decision to appoint an ambassador to Israel is another important step towards implementing the peace agreement and strengthening the ties between the countries,” Ashkenazi told Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani that time.
During the call with Al Zayani, Ashkenazi welcomed the Bahraini decision and thanked his counterpart for their “strong friendship, as well as for the courage and leadership of the King of Bahrain.”
‘Israel’ already had a secret diplomatic office in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, before normalization was announced, and it became an embassy operating in the open in recent months, Israeli media reported, but the kingdom is yet to establish an embassy in ‘Israel’.
The announcement came on the same day that Israeli occupation Foreign Minister Yair Lapid inaugurated Israel’s embassy in the UAE during the 1st official visit by an Israeli minister to the country after normalizing ties last year.
Such official engagements between the occupation state and the Arab countries are the first since the latest Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which started on May 10 and ended with a ceasefire brokered by mediator Egypt on May 21, killing at least 279 Palestinians, including 69 children and 40 women and injuring 1,910 others.
19 families in the Gaza Strip have been wiped off the population civil registry during Israel’s 11-day aggression, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, including 41 children and 25 women.
The UAE was the first country to agree to normalize ties with the occupation state under the Abraham Accords, a pact brokered by the United States, a move that was followed by Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Palestinians condemned the normalization agreements, saying they encouraged Israel’s denial of their rights and do not serve the Palestinian cause.
Abu Dhabi said the deal was an effort to stave off Israel’s planned annexation of the occupied West Bank, however, opponents believe normalization efforts have been in the offing for many years as Israeli officials have made official visits to the UAE and attended conferences in the country which had no diplomatic or other ties with the occupation state.
