Trump: Israel and Bahrain set to normalize relations
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced Friday that Bahrain would move to normalize relations with Israel, building on the president’s push for closer ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
The White House announced last month that the United Arab Emirates and Israel had agreed to formalize diplomatic relations, paving the way for Friday’s deal with Bahrain and giving Trump a fresh foreign policy win ahead of the November election.
The president tweeted out a copy of the six-paragraph deal between Israel, Bahrain and the U.S., which said Bahrain and Israel will establish “full diplomatic relations.”
“Opening direct dialogue and ties between these two dynamic societies and advanced economies will continue the positive transformation of the Middle East and increase stability, security and prosperity,” the statement said.
Trump will welcome UAE and Israeli officials to the White House for a signing ceremony on Tuesday.
Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa is also scheduled to attend that ceremony.
As part of the deal with the UAE, Israel agreed to temporarily halt its controversial plan to annex parts of the West Bank, land that Palestinians see as vital to their hopes of a future state.
The only other Arab nations to have active diplomatic ties with Israel are Egypt and Jordan.
Bahrain, an island kingdom, is a pivotal U.S. ally in the Middle East. The country hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
“This is a truly historic day,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. “When I took office the Middle East was in a state of absolute chaos.”
Trump has delegated Middle East peace negotiations to his son and adviser, Jared Kushner.
In a briefing with reporters on Friday, Kushner did not answer questions about whether Israel had made concessions to win the deal, nor did he say whether the U.S. had agreed to push through new arms sales to Bahrain or provide other assistance to the kingdom.
“This deal was a great breakthrough for them and for their people,” Kushner said in sidestepping those issues.