Bahrain Mirror: Interior Minister Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa said on Monday (September 14, 2020) that establishing relations with Israel is a "protection to the country's supreme interests," stressing that declaration of peace support doesn't mean neglecting the Palestinian cause. 

The minister asserted in a statement "that the establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel comes to protect the supreme interests of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The move doesn't mean neglecting the Palestine cause and the rights of Palestinians, it is to reinforce the security of Bahrainis and the solidity of their economy," adding that "if Palestine is our Arab cause, then Bahrain is our fateful cause."

He affirmed that the Kingdom has been standing with the Palestinian cause since the beginning of the Palestine-Israel conflict and the decision won't clash with Bahrain's stand towards the Arab Peace Initiative and the international decisions.

He said that after 73 years of the Palestinian cause, the threats have moved to Arab countries, in which their security situations have changed in different ways.

Unfortunately, the chances of peace solutions reduced. He said that the fateful challenges reached the region and cannot be ignored or overlooked.

He said: "The regional situation makes us deal with ongoing threats for the past years, in which most of them were deterred. It isn't wise to see the threat and wait for it to reach us if we can in any way avoid it."

He continued that Iran has chosen the behavior of imposing domination in many forms, and it is an ongoing threat to our internal security. "We are a state that is determined to develop our national capabilities, and our old and modern strategy is based on strong allies to confront potential threats."

We are after God depend on developing our national capabilities on our Gulf and Arab depth and international partnerships, he said, adding that taking similar steps of the United Arab Emirates isn't a strange matter as it affirms the strong historical ties between the two brotherly countries.

He said that there is no doubt that cooperation on such a project would reinforce the depth of strategic partnership with the United States that takes Bahrain as the headquarters of its Fifth Fleet Command.

He highlighted that the current general economic situation that impacts Bahrain and negatively affected the economic and social life gives more responsibility to the state to provide security and decent living to people.

"It isn't part of our strategic views and capability to adopt  strategic stands and then take opposite procedures later, because we are in a geographical, security and  economic situation that requires a swift response as any delay would have major circumstances.", he said.

Arabic Version