- New Delhi: Bahrain Thursday recalled its first ever ambassador to Israel over the Palestine issue, and said Tel Aviv’s own envoy had left Bahrain. The development comes as a setback to American attempts to normalise Israel’s ties with the Middle East.
Israel, however, has said it had no official intimation to recall its envoy.
In a statement Thursday, Bahrain’s Parliament also called for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and announced the freezing of economic ties with Israel.
“The House of Representatives confirms that the Israeli ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain has left Bahrain, and the Kingdom of Bahrain decided to return the Bahraini ambassador from Israel to the country. Economic relations with Israel have also been halted,” the statement from the Bahraini Parliament said, adding that this comes as a confirmation “of the firm historical Bahraini position in support of the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people”.
However, Lior Haiat, spokesperson of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that Tel Aviv has not been officially notified by the government of Bahrain to recall ambassadors from the respective countries.
“The relations between Israel and Bahrain are stable,” he added.
Update from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
We would like to clarify that no notification or decision has been received from the Bahraini government or the Israeli government to recall the countries' ambassadors.
The relations between Israel and Bahrain are stable. pic.twitter.com/ORlDH6Kp7k
— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱 (@LiorHaiat) November 2, 2023
The development comes amid Israel’s continued bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza, a 41-km strip that has been under the control of the Palestinian militant group Hamas since 2007. It also comes as Bahrain had begun to establish diplomatic ties with Israel after years of refusing to recognise it.
Bahrain is one of the four signatories to the Abraham Accords — a series of agreements that sought normalisation of ties with Israel after years of discord over the Palestine question. As reported by ThePrint earlier, the accords, signed between Israel and four Arab nations — the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Morocco, Bahrain, and Sudan — was seen as a “game changer” in the Middle East.
The accords allowed the Arab nations, which had until then refused to recognise Israel, to establish diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv.
Bahrain’s decision to recall its envoy comes less than two months after the first Israeli embassy opened in Manama. Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen had inaugurated the embassy on 4 September to much fanfare and had reportedly placed a mezuzah – a small scroll of parchment containing words from the Torah – at the entrance.
Israel’s attack in Gaza comes on the back of Hamas’ coordinated aerial and ground infiltration of the country on 7 October. While 1,400 Israelis were killed in the Hamas atttack, at least 239 individuals were taken captive, according to information made available by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Meanwhile, the death toll in Palestine currently stands at 9,061, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Also Read: Pakistani senator justifies Holocaust. Critics say Hitler would have killed him too
‘Escalation’
In its statement, Bahrain cited Israel’s “escalation” of its ongoing conflict with Hamas while ignoring international humanitarian law.
“The Council affirms that the continuation of war and military operations, and the continuing Israeli escalation in light of the lack of respect for international humanitarian law, prompts the Council to demand more decisions and measures that preserve the lives and lives of innocent people and civilians in Gaza and all Palestinian regions,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Israel has confirmed at least two strikes on Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp in an operation that United Nations human rights officials say could constitute a “war crime”.
Reuters has quoted Hamas as saying that hundreds were killed in Tuesday’s attack.
What are Abraham Accords
Brokered by the Trump administration, the Abraham Accords is a series of agreements signed by Israel with the four Arab nations between September 2020 and January 2021.
The name Abraham Accords is rooted in the common belief in Abraham as the patriarch of all Abrahamic religions — particularly Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The accords have two parts — a declaration that calls for peace and coexistence in the Middle East and the bilateral agreements built upon the declaration.
This is an updated version of this report
Also Read: Judge Israel and Hamas on their actions, not where your loyalties lie