Israeli parliament to review normalisation with Bahrain

The Israeli Knesset will today vote on the Bahrain-Israel normalisation agreement.

The agreement is expected to easily pass the Knesset with widespread support from both the ruling coalition and opposition leaders. Voting on this issue will likely follow the Abraham Accords. Only the members of the Joint List, the primary Arab-dominated faction in the Knesset, oppose the agreement, claiming that it would perpetuate the subjugation of Palestinians.

As a portion of the Abraham Accords included the sale of US F-35 fighter jets to the UAE, similar arms sales to Bahrain could take place. An agreement signed on October 22 to allow commercial flights between Manama and Ben-Gurion Airport also accompanied the normalisation of relations, so expect further economic, infrastructural and travel connections to be established in the coming months. While other Middle Eastern countries have been unwilling to recognise Israel, Sudan’s agreement to normalise relations makes it the fifth Arab country to do so and the third this year, possibly encouraging more nations in the region to do so in the near future.