Donald Trump unveils ‘historic’ peace deal between Israel and Bahrain
- Joint statement says there will be ‘full diplomatic relations’ between both countries
- Agreement follows earlier announcement of normalisation of ties between Israel and United Arab Emirates
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday a peace deal between Israel and Bahrain, which becomes the second Arab country to settle with its former foe over the last month, reinforcing an ambitious White House push to redraw the conflicts of the Middle East.
Calling it a “truly historic day”, Trump said Israel and Bahrain were establishing full diplomatic and commercial relations.
“They will exchange embassies and ambassadors, begin direct flights between their countries and launch cooperation initiatives across a broad range of sectors, including health, business, technology, education, security and agriculture,” he told reporters in the White House.
Bahrain said in a joint statement it had agreed to formalise the deal with Israel at a ceremony next Tuesday in the White House, where the United Arab Emirates will also sign off on its own thaw with Israel announced in mid-August.
According to the statement, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump talked earlier on Friday before announcing the new breakthrough.
