JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is flying to the Gulf state of Bahrain on Monday, cementing ties between the new allies in a clear message of cooperation aimed at regional archrival Iran.
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Bennett’s trip to the Gulf is the first public visit by an Israeli prime minister to Bahrain, and comes less than two weeks after the countries signed a defense agreement with an eye on rising tensions in the Gulf. The visit also comes as nuclear talks between world powers and Iran are dragging on in Vienna.
Israel and Bahrain agreed to normalize ties in 2020 as part of the U.S.-brokered “Abraham Accords,” which also saw Israel establish relations with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan. Bennett traveled to the UAE late last year.
Bennett’s office said he would meet with Bahrain’s crown prince and prime minister and discuss “the importance of peace, advancement and prosperity in the region, and especially the advancement of diplomatic and economic issues, with an emphasis on technology and innovation.”
Bahrain’s population is majority Shiite, and the country has been ruled since 1783 by the Sunni Al Khalifa family. Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, Bahrain’s rulers have accused Tehran of arming militants and fomenting dissent on the island, a charge Iran denies.
Normalization with Israel remains a contentious issue for Bahrain’s Shiite majority, which long has accused the country’s Sunni Muslim rulers of treating them like second-class citizens.