‘Israel Is Going To Stay’: Bahraini FM Recognises Israel’s Right To Exist, Wants Better Relations With Jewish Nation

Recognising Israel’s right to exist in the Middle East, Bahrain has said that it wants peace and better relations with the Jewish nation, reports Times of Israel.

Foreign Minister (FM) of Bahrain Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifah, in an interview on 26 June to the Times of Israel, said that his country wants peace and better relations with the Israel.

He also recognised Israel’s “right to existence” in the interview on the sidelines of United States-sponsored Peace to Prosperity workshop in Manama, Bahrain.

“Israel is a country in the region… and it’s there to stay, of course,” the Bahraini FM was quoted in the report as saying.

Referring to the Saudi-backed peace initiative, Khalifa said, “Who did we offer peace to [with] the [Arab] Peace Initiative? We offered it to a state named the State of Israel, in the region. We did not offer it to some faraway island or some faraway country,”

“We offered it [Peace] to Israel. So we do believe that Israel is a country to stay, and we want better relations with it, and we want peace with it,” he added.

The remarks from the Bahraini FM gain significance in the light of the fact that there are only two Arab nations - Egypt and Jordan - which recognise Israel.