Gulf | Bahrain
Bahrain ministry defends move to meet Israeli official
Bahrain's foreign ministry, under fire from political activists for a meeting between Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, the foreign minister, and his Israeli counterpart, has called for a new mentality in dealing with modern political realities.
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 23:44 October 11, 2007
Manama: Bahrain's foreign ministry, under fire from political activists for a meeting between Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, the foreign minister, and his Israeli counterpart, has called for a new mentality in dealing with modern political realities.
The ministry in a statement on Wednesday evening admitted that Shaikh Khalid met Israel's Tzipi Livni in New York last week on the sidelines of the 62nd United Nations General Assembly, but stressed that it was not a normalisation of ties with Israel and that the talks were within the confines set by the Arab League to explore peace possibilities with all concerned parties.
The Riyadh Summit last April tasked some Arab countries to contact Israel and try to persuade its leaders to accept the Arab peace plan and start direct talks.
"All the contacts the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has had are transparent, not shrouded in secrecy and do not seek to reach secret goals. They all aim to support the Palestinian people and to help alleviate its suffering. The political reality today is different from the situation that prevailed 40 years ago. Unfortunately, this matter is being deliberately ignored despite all the new political facts in our modern world," the ministry said.
"Bahrain has always called for pushing the peace forward and has had contacts with several parties in this regard, including a visit to the Palestinians in Ramallah. All the moves were open and the Arab world is well aware of them," it added.
Al Wefaq, Bahrain's largest political society earlier warned against meetings with Israeli officials and said it would push for legislation to criminalise all forms of contact with Israel.
Dangerous
"The minister's meeting is a dangerous move and an act of provocation. Bahrainis refuse any form of normalisation or contact with an enemy that continues to savagely attack the Palestinians," Al Wefaq said.
Bahrain does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, but was the first Gulf country to cancel the anti-Israel veto and close down its Israel Boycott Office.
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