2023-09-03 21:15:08
Cohen, who is accompanied by a political and commercial delegation, is scheduled to meet the King of Bahrain during the two-day visit.
This is Cohen’s first official visit to one of the signatories to the “Abraham Accords” in 2020, which was mediated by the United States and witnessed Israel’s normalization of relations with Bahrain, the UAE and Morocco.
Cohen’s visit comes less than two weeks before the agreements’ third anniversary in mid-September.
Although there are now stable relations, Bahrain and the UAE have joined other Gulf states in issuing a series of condemnations once morest Israel this year.
The storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Israeli forces’ raid on the city of Nablus and the Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank were among the Israeli steps that angered the Gulf states.
Cohen’s trip coincides with growing speculation regarding a stalled normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh and Washington held talks regarding Saudi conditions for progress on the path of normalization, according to people familiar with the meetings.
Israeli press commentators indicated that these efforts were shaken once morest the backdrop of Israel’s announcement of a meeting last month between Cohen and his Libyan counterpart in Rome.
This announcement sparked protests in Libya, which does not recognize Israel, which led to the dismissal of Najla al-Mangoush from her post as Libyan Foreign Minister.
Israel later denied being the source of the announcement.
© 2023 AFP
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