Bahraini Scholars reject normalizations of ties with Israel

“We denounce the presence of the foreign minister of the Zionist enemy in Bahrain, and renew our rejection of all forms of normalization with the usurping regime [of Israel], including the opening of an embassy and a trade office in Manama,” the scholars said in a joint statement.

“We also reiterate our firm support for the Palestinian nation and every iota of the blessed Palestinian lands, which has been drenched in the blood of martyrs through years of resistance and steadfastness. The murderous invaders are now spilling the blood of Palestinians in al-Quds and Jenin,” they added.

Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid arrived at Manama airport on Thursday to become the highest-ranking Israeli official to visit the Persian Gulf country since Israel and Bahrain forged formal relations last year.

He met King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifah.

On Friday, a group of young Palestinian men converged outside the diplomatic mission and raised national Palestinian flags to condemn the Al Khalifah regime’s decision to normalize relations with Israel, and voiced their support for the Palestinian people.

Elsewhere in Sitra Island, which lies 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) south of the capital Manama, Bahraini regime forces attacked demonstrators. 

The participants were chanting slogans against the inauguration of Israel’s embassy in Manama, when regime forces fired shots and tear gas canisters to disperse them.

Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed agreements with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani during an official ceremony hosted by former US president Donald Trump at the White House on September 15 last year.

Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip with East al-Quds as its capital, view the deals as a betrayal of their cause.

Separately, the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement called upon governments, companies, and artists to withdraw from Expo Dubai 2020, and demanded pressure on the United Arab Emirates to end its support for the apartheid Israeli regime.

The movement demanded that the Palestinian Authority clarify whether it is participating in the expo or not.

It also stressed that any Palestinian or Arab participation in Expo Dubai 2020, where the Israeli regime has a pavilion, would amount to encouraging more normalization agreements between reactionary Arab regimes and the Israeli regime.