Arab World Condemns Israel-Bahrain Deal as ‘Betrayal of Palestinians’

Responses from the Arab world to the announcement that Israel and Bahrain will normalize ties continued to pour in on Sunday, with many in the region condemning the move as a “betrayal” of the Palestinian cause. Hizbullah, the Lebanon-based military and political group designated a terror organization by the United States, European Union and Israel, called the Bahraini government a “tyrannical regime” that agreed to cement its ties with Israel at the behest of the US. The comments from Tehran were even harsher as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps promised to extract “revenge” on Bahrain’s rulers. In the Gaza Strip, dozens of residents rallied to protest the deal, along with a similar agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, by burning pictures of US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nayhan. On Friday, President Trump announced the Israeli-Bahrain agreement, marking the second time in a month that a Gulf state agreed to normalize relations with Israel.