President Trump announced on Friday that Bahrain will establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, following the United Arab Emirates, in another sign of shifting Middle East dynamics that are bringing Arab nations closer to Israel, isolating the Palestinians and positioning Mr. Trump as a campaign-season peacemaker.
Mr. Trump announced the news on Twitter, releasing a joint statement with Bahrain and Israel, and calling the move “a historic breakthrough to further peace in the Middle East.”
Joint Statement of the United States, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the State of Israel pic.twitter.com/xMquRkGtpM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2020
The announcement follows one last month by Israel and the U.A.E. that they would normalize relations with each other, on the condition that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel not follow through with plans to annex portions of the West Bank. Trump administration officials said that they hoped that agreement would encourage other Arab countries with historically hostile relations toward Israel to take similar steps.
