Netanyahu, Bahrain leader speak on the phone

Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince of Bahrain Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa had their first phone call that was made public, a week after the countries signed a declaration of peace at the White House.

The phone call, which took place during the coronavirus cabinet meeting, was about possible forms of cooperation between Israel and Bahrain.

Netanyahu characterized the conversation as “extraordinary” and “very friendly.”

“We repeated the principles of the Abraham Accords and talked about how we are quickly adding content to the agreements between Bahrain and Israel and turning this peace [ into] economic peace, technological peace, tourism peace, peace in every one of these areas, and you will hear about practical steps very soon,” Netanyahu said in his message to the public.

The agreement between Israel and Bahrain was declarative and only one page long, because Netanyahu and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif al- Zayani signed it four days after normalization between the countries was announced.

In the same statement, the prime minister said that the coronavirus cabinet is working hard to fight the pandemic and will make important decisions by tomorrow at the latest.

Meanwhile, Israeli diplomats around the world have been meeting with their Emirati and Bahraini counterparts following the peace agreements with those countries.

Israeli Charge d’Affaires in Moscow Keren Cohen Gat and Strategic Affairs Attache Yifat Amedi met with Bahraini diplomat Jasim Balzac.

In addition, Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan George Deek met with his Emirati counterpart in Baku, in the first- ever meeting between diplomats of the two countries held in Arabic.

“We must never lose hope in our common future,” Deek, Israel’s first- ever Christian Arab ambassador, wrote on twitter.