As Pompeo pushes for Israel deal, Bahrain reaffirms support for two-state solution
Pompeo is trying to persuade Bahrain and other countries in the region to join the United Arab Emirates in recognizing Israel.
As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushes for Arab countries to forge their own deals to recognize Israel, Bahrain indicated it would not be next, saying its position on the need for an independent Palestinian state remains unchanged.
Pompeo’s Middle East tour, which included a stop in the tiny island nation of Bahrain today, comes on the heels of a US-brokered deal to normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The top US diplomat is lobbying for other countries to follow suit, and the small Gulf kingdom has been floated as a likely candidate.
But during his meeting with Pompeo, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said his country still adheres to the Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for recognition of Israel to be offered in exchange for the Jewish state’s complete withdrawal from the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.
“The King stressed the importance of intensifying efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict according to the two-state solution ... that leads to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” state news agency BNA quoted him as saying.
