The relationship between the two countries has existed since Bahrain got its independence in 1971. The countries officially established their diplomatic relations in September 2020. The common threat of Iran has provided common ground for both of them to work on bringing the relations some stability. Bahrain’s foreign policy traditionally supports the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Through various ups and downs, both countries have been taking proper and stable steps to further enhance their cooperation and coordination. In March 2021, Bahrain appointed Khaled Yousif al-Jalahma as its first ambassador to Israel. In August 2020, he arrived in Israel to take up his post. Further, Israel opened a resident embassy in Manama in September last year.
On 14th February 2022, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took a visit to Bahrain. This visit is being regarded as the highest-level meeting between the leaders since the establishment of relations between the two countries in the year 2020. According to the official reports, Bennett will meet with Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa. During the meeting, the leaders will be discussing how to advance their bilateral relations as well as to further strengthen their relations in the field of innovation and technology. Speaking to reporters before takeoff, Prime Minister Bennett said he hoped the visit would be a “message of goodwill … and a shared stance against common threats”.
In the past few months, Israel has taken all the steps possible to improve its relations with the Gulf State. On 2nd February this year, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz took an unannounced visit to Bahrain. The visit came amid heightened tensions in the Gulf after missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement. To further take the process Israel has made deal with the Gulf states to help them with the air defence. But the details of the process are yet to be informed about.
