Bahrain and Israel have reached a deal to fully normalise their relations, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced.
“The second Arab country to make peace with Israel in 30 days,” he tweeted. The president also posted on Twitter a copy of a joint statement between the U.S., Bahrain and Israel.
The deal comes after Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced a similar agreement last month.
Bahrain will join Israel and the UAE for a signing ceremony at the White House on September 15, Trump told reporters on Friday.
In a Hebrew-language statement, Netanyahu said he was “moved” to announce the agreement with Bahrain, which he said “adds to the historic peace with the United Arab Emirates”.
Palestinian leaders have criticised Arab states for normalising ties with Israel while it continues its military occupation of Palestinian lands, saying such deals threaten to cement the status quo.
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The Palestinian Liberation Organization said Friday that the Bahrain-Israel deal was “another treacherous stab to [the] Palestinian cause.”
Bahrain is a close U.S. and British ally, hosting the U.S. Fifth Fleet as well as a British military base.
The nation has been widely criticised by human rights groups for cracking down on a democracy movement within the nation since 2011. Bahrain has blamed Iran for instigating the uprising.
