Israel, Bahrain, US to Hold Jerusalem Summit This Week

A three-way summit will be held in Jerusalem on Wednesday, with senior officials from Israel, Bahrain and the United States. Participating will be Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. Pompeo is on a trip to the region, with stops in Israel, Turkey, Georgia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. On Sunday, Israel’s cabinet unanimously ratified a “joint communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations” between Israel and Bahrain. “This is the product of a continuous effort that we have led over the years, an effort to expand the circle of peace, an effort to bring true peace, an effort to bring peace for peace,” Netanyahu said Sunday at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. Participants in the summit could sign an agreement to allow direct flights between Israel and Bahrain, according to an Israeli news site. Another issue set to be discussed is the mutual opening of embassies. The Trump Administration helped bring Israel and Bahrain together under the Abraham Accords, signed in mid-September at the White House by Netanyahu, Zayani, US President Donald Trump and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates.