Israel PM to meet Bahrain king on landmark visit

Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will meet Bahrain's king on Tuesday after arriving for the first visit by an Israeli head of state to the Gulf country, 17 months after they defied decades of tension to normalise diplomatic ties.

Bennett was welcomed by Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al-Zayani at Manama airport, which was decorated with the flags of both countries, late on Monday. He will meet King Hamad and Crown Prince Salman, who is also prime minister, on Tuesday.

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Bennett's visit is the latest such initiative following the US-brokered 2020 Abraham Accords, which ran counter to the longstanding Arab consensus that ruled out ties with Israel in the absence of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Naftali Bennett is greeted by Abdullatif Al-Zayani after arriving at Manama International Airport. Reuters

Bahrain and its close ally the United Arab Emirates became only the third and fourth Arab states — following Egypt and Jordan — to establish ties with Israel when they signed on to the pacts negotiated under US President Donald Trump. Bennett visited the UAE in December.

"In these tumultuous times it's important that from this region we send a message of goodwill, of cooperation of standing together against common challenges," Bennett said before his departure.

Naftali Bennett (centre) meets officials from the UAE and Bahrain in New York. File/AP

The trip follows a visit to Manama by Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz earlier this month that saw the two countries sign a defence agreement.

That deal covered intelligence, procurement and joint training, with Gantz boasting that it further solidified the fledgling diplomatic relationship.

Agence France-Presse