Bahrain’s envoy to Israel has been recalled and the Arab nation’s Council of Representatives confirmed that the Israeli ambassador had left Manama….reports Asian Lite News
The government in Bahrain announced that it has suspended economic ties with Israel in wake of the ongoing war in Gaza, adding that the country’s envoy to the Jewish nation has also returned home.
Israel and Bahrain had normalised their ties in 2020 under the so-called us-brokered Abraham Accords.
In a statement late Thursday, the Arab nation’s Council of Representatives confirmed that the Israeli ambassador had left Bahrain.
“The Council of Representatives affirms that the Israeli ambassador in the kingdom of Bahrain has left Bahrain and the kingdom of Bahrain has decided on the return of the Bahrain ambassador to Israel. The cessation of economic relations was also decided.”
It added that the decisions confirmed Bahrain’s support of the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.
“The Council affirms that the continuation of war and military operations, and the continuing Israeli escalation in light of the lack of respect for international humanitarian law, prompts the Council to demand more decisions and measures that preserve the lives and lives of innocent people and civilians in Gaza and all Palestinian areas,” the Council said in a statement.
“His Excellency the Speaker of the House of Representatives expressed his pride and pride in the keenness and interest given by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of the country, may God protect and preserve him, to support the Palestinian cause, and his firm and unwavering position, and the right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” it added.
Bahrain’s National Communication Center confirmed the move and said that the “priority of efforts at this stage must be focused on protecting the lives of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law and working to secure urgent humanitarian corridors to deliver relief and medical aid to the Gaza Strip,” the Arab News reported.
It added that there is a “need to spare the region from the consequences of a new cycle of violence and work to find a clear political horizon for a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace that guarantees stability and security for all.”
However, Israel insisted that no such decision was made and that ties between the two countries remain “stable”.
“We would like to clarify that no notification or decision has been received from the government of Bahrain or the government of Israel to return the countries’ ambassadors,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Relations between Israel and Bahrain are stable,” it added.
On Tuesday, Bolivia severed its diplomatic relations with Israel, citing the Palestinian death toll in Gaza due to Israeli strikes, while Jordan, Chile, and Colombia recalled their ambassadors.
Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lior Haiat denounced Bolivia’s decision as “a surrender to terrorism” and accused the South American country of “aligning itself with Hamas”.
Fighting intensifies in Northern Gaza
The fighting between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hamas, in the nearly five-week-old war, has intensified in northern Gaza.
“This is not a small-scale operation,” Israeli military official Moshe Tetro told international media during an online briefing on Thursday. “Northern Gaza is the place of war.”
Tetro, from the IDF unit that coordinates Israeli government activities in the Palestinian territories, said, “We call on the population of Gaza to go south, where we will allow humanitarian supplies.”
He said the displaced Gazans could return to their home areas when the war is over.
But he seemed to downplay the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, following Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes and ground invasion. “We are not close to any kind of humanitarian crisis.”
According to media reports from the Middle East, citing the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war so far.
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie said in a statement, viewed on social media, that 40 percent of those dying in Gaza are children.
