DUBAI
\nBahrain s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa met President Isaac Herzog on Sunday (Dec 4) in the first visit by an Israeli head of state to the Gulf state since the countries forged ties two years ago and as a right-wing coalition government takes shape in Israel.
\nHerzog, whose post is largely ceremonial, will then visit the United Arab Emirates, which also normalised ties with Israel in US-brokered pacts known as the Abraham Accords and had already hosted the Israeli president.
\n\u201cI have come here with a distinguished delegation of people who lead the business sector in Israel, who are eager to connect and do business with the people of Bahrain,\u201d Herzog said according to a statement provided by his office.
\nKing Hamad also voiced hope the visit would strengthen bilateral relations, state news agency BNA reported, while stressing Manama s support for \u201ca just, comprehensive and sustainable peace that guarantees legitimate rights of the Palestinian people\u201d.
\nThe incoming Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu after an election last month looks likely to include far-right politicians who oppose Palestinian statehood and want the Palestinian Authority, which wields limited self-rule in the West Bank, dismantled.
\nSunni Muslim-ruled UAE and Bahrain broke with decades of Arab policy when they forged ties, in the absence of Palestinian statehood, with Israel in 2020 under Netanyahu s leadership in deals partly driven by shared concerns over Shi ite Iran s nuclear and missiles programmes and growing regional sway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBAI Bahrain s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa met President Isaac Herzog on Sunday (Dec 4) in the first visit by an Israeli head of state to the Gulf state since the countries forged ties two years ago and as a right-wing coalition government takes shape in Israel. Herzog, whose post is largely ceremonial, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299467,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-299446","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n