DUBAI: Bahraini King HamadHamad bin Isa Al Khalifa met President Isaac Herzog on Sunday 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 will visit the United Arab Emirates, which normalised ties with Israel in US-brokered pacts known as the Abraham Accords, and had already hosted the Israeli president, according to Herzog, whose post is largely ceremonial.
Herzog said that he had 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.
King Hamad expressed hope that the visit would strengthen bilateral relations, state news agency BNA reported last month, while he stressed that Manama's support for a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace that guarantees the Palestinian people's legitimate rights. incoming Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to include far-right politicians who oppose Palestinian statehood and want the Palestinian Authority dismantled in the West Bank.
It includes ultra-nationalist Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was among Israeli officials including Netanyahu attending the UAE national day celebrations at the Emirati embassy in Tel Aviv on Thursday.
Sunni 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.