The Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, will meet today (Tuesday) with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamed al-Khalifa, and with the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa, during his official visit to the country. In a special interview with him this morning, the prime minister told the Bahraini newspaper Al-Ayyam that “Iran is working to destroy the moderate countries and put terrorist organizations in their place.”
In a special interview with the Bahraini newspaper, Bennett said: “First of all, I am very happy to visit Bahrain. This is the first visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to the kingdom. I would like to express my great appreciation to His Majesty King Hemed Ben Issa “During the visit, we will discuss a variety of issues and strengthen the relationship between us in all areas, in the economy, health, tourism and security. The two peoples will see the fruits of our relationship every day.”
What is your vision for strengthening the relations between the countries on the economic, commercial, tourist, medical and cultural levels, in light of the desire of both sides for a warm peace?
“I see Israel and Bahrain as close partners in all areas. The cooperation between us is natural. I expect trade between us to increase significantly, as it has grown – for example – with the Emirates. I expect the volume of tourism to increase, of course after the corona passes, and most importantly, “They will get to know each other better: in delegation visits, joint cultural activities, etc. We want a very warm peace with Bahrain.”
Bahrain and Israel signed a security agreement earlier this month. Bahrain is the second Arab country, after Morocco, to sign such an agreement with Israel. In your opinion, what is the importance of this agreement, especially with regard to intelligence gathering?
“Israel and Bahrain are both facing major security challenges, stemming from the same source – the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran undermines stability throughout the region. It supports terrorist organizations operating in your area and ours, with one goal – to destroy moderate countries, care for their people, stability and peace, and place “In our place are bloodthirsty terrorist organizations. We will not allow this. We are fighting Iran and its affiliates in the region every day, and we will help our friends strengthen their peace, security and stability as much as we can.”
(Bennett is accepted in Bahrain).
For the first time, Israel is participating in the IMX exercise, led by the US Fifth Fleet, alongside countries with which it has no diplomatic relations. What are the implications of her participation in the exercise? Is Israel today a key partner in naval defense and in the war on illegal actions carried out in the Gulf waters, as part of the joint mission forces transferred there from Europe?
“Israel is a significant military-regional force and has unprecedented operational capabilities in the air, at sea and on land. We are interested in expanding our cooperation with our friends in the region in order to strengthen its stability and security.”
As for the Iranian nuclear program, media reports indicate that Israel has instructed the US administration not to reach an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program. On what issues does your government agree with the US administration and on what does it disagree with it, if we take into account that the Biden administration is closer to you than it was to the government of former Prime Minister Netanyahu?
“President Biden has been a true friend of Israel for over 50 years and he fully understands our security needs. We believe an agreement with Iran would be a strategic mistake, because it would allow it to maintain its nuclear capabilities and receive hundreds of billions of dollars, which would fuel its terror machine. “That affects so many countries in the region and in the world.”
The head of the IDF Strategic Division, Maj. Gen. Tal Kalman, said in an interview with the Alayam newspaper that the establishment of an alliance such as NATO, which would include the moderate countries – Israel, Bahrain, the Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Greece and other countries that may join – Dealing with what he called the “forces of evil” led by Iran. Is this happening now, especially in light of the Israeli military diplomatic activity in the region?
“In recent years we have been tightening our military cooperation with countries in the region, Arab and non-Arab. We all understand that we are facing the same threats, so why not work together to stop them? Israel is a strong country that can be trusted.”