Bahraini FM dubs US plan for Palestine ‘gamechanger’, says Manama wants normalization with Tel Aviv

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa made the rounds among Israeli journalists, who were visiting Bahrain this week for the unveiling of the Trump administration’s plan for occupied Palestine.

Al Khalifa described the US proposal as a “gamechanger” and equated it to the 1978 Camp David Accords, which normalized ties between Egypt and Israel.

“As much as Camp David 1 was a major gamechanger, after the visit of President Sadat — if this succeeds, and we build on it, and it attracts attention and momentum, this would be the second gamechanger,” he told The Times of Israel on Wednesday.

In a separate interview with Israel’s Channel 13, Al Khalifa defended the plan’s architects calling them “genuine”.

“They [the US] always tried to solve this conflict and always been a force for good and an honest broker,” he added.

But aside from Bahrain and a few other Persian Gulf monarchies, the US plan has thus far received a frosty reception in the Middle East.

The two-day conference in Bahrain ended on Wednesday amid rejection from Palestinians who said Washington’s proposal for a multibillion-dollar investment ignores Palestinian political aspirations for statehood.

The Palestinians boycotted the Manama gathering and remained adamant that the solution to the Israeli occupation is not money.

However, Bahrain’s top diplomat believes the Palestinian decision to stay away was a “mistake”.

“Yes this has nothing to do with the (political) peace plan the US will propose,” he acknowledged in his interview with Channel 13. “But this was an opportunity that we wanted to see them here, but they chose not to come.”

Al Khalifa was careful not to direct any criticism in Israel’s direction, saying that he wanted “the Arabs to feel that Israel is a country that belongs here.”

Instead, he blamed Iran for the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict.

When asked about the prospects of the normalization of ties between Manama and Tel Aviv, Al Khalifa was optimistic.

“We do want to see normalization,” he told Channel 13.

“We need to build trust and faith in what we are doing. The Israeli public need to trust that there are countries in the region that do want to have peace and do encourage the Palestinians to do it,” the Bahraini official added.

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