By Eshat Firat
JERUSALEM
A delegation from Bahrain has reportedly arrived in Israel on a four-day visit for talks with Israeli officials, days after U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, according to Israeli media.
The delegation, which was sent upon orders from Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, includes religious figures and met with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv, Israeli Channel Two said.
According to the channel, the Bahraini delegation accompanied by an Israeli foreign ministry delegation visited Jerusalem’s Old City, where the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is located.
No further details were given, but Channel Two said the delegation delivered a “message of peace and brotherhood” to Israel from King Khalifa and Bahrain.
It claimed that the Bahraini delegation reportedly said Jewish synagogues would be restored in Bahrain and that there was no obstacle to visit by Israeli citizens to the Gulf country.
In September, Israeli media claimed that Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa had participated in a memorial on “Jewish genocide” organized by the Jewish center in Los Angeles during a visit to the U.S.
The Bahraini monarch reportedly condemned the hostility of Arabs against Israel and asserted that Israeli citizens can visit his Gulf state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said “developments in Israel’s ties with moderate Arab countries are in an unprecedented situation.”
“The scale of our cooperation with Arab countries has yet to be set, but it is better than ever. These big changes are ongoing despite Palestinians. Unfortunately, the Palestinians have not changed their minds to reach any solution,” Netanyahu had said.
Netanyahu had also pointed to the improving cooperation and ties between Israel and Arab countries without giving any other details.
Bahrain has no diplomatic ties with Israel and is known as the most authoritarian regime in the world.
The oppositions in the Gulf country are suppressed by intense pressure from the regime while a huge number of refugees from South and Southeast Asian countries are trying to survive under exploitation.
The Gulf monarch is also acting in line with Saudi Arabia in the bloody war in Yemen.
On Wednesday, Trump announced U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and said the U.S. Embassy would be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The dramatic shift in Washington’s Jerusalem policy triggered demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories and several Muslim countries.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- now occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
