Bahrainis protest normalization deal with ‘israel’ despite clampdown

Waving Palestinian flags and wearing face masks for protection against the coronavirus, demonstrators rallied in the northern villages of Abu Saiba and Shakhura on Friday, walking over the name of Bahraini monarch King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah in an apparent show of outrage over the normalization deal.

Protests were also held in the villages of Barbar, Karzakan, Nuwaidrat and Sehla, Salmabad town as well as Sar residential area west of the capital, Manama.

Protesters trampled Israeli flags before they were burned along with pictures of the Bahraini king, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Banners were carried reading “Death to America, Death to Israel”, “The Bahraini Nation Rejects Normalization,” and “Bahrain is Enraged over al-Quds.”

Pictures and witness testimony indicated that regime forces were heavily present on the streets during the marches.

The rallies came as the head of Israel’s spy agency Mossad met Thursday with Bahraini officials to discuss topics of mutual interest and strengthening bilateral cooperation.

National Intelligence Agency President Adel bin Khalifah Al Fadhel and Strategic Security Bureau Chairman Shaikh Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Khalifah welcomed Yossi Cohen upon his arrival in Manama, the official Bahrain News Agency reported.

The two sides stressed the importance of the agreement recently signed between Bahrain and Israel, saying it would pave the way for future cooperation in various fields.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed agreements with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani in a US-brokered event hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on September 15.

Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital view the deals as betrayal of their cause.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas protested the normalization deals with Israel, saying they will be fruitless as long as the United States and the Israeli regime do not recognize the rights of the Palestinian nation and refuse to resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees.

He reiterated that there will be no peace, security or stability for anyone in the region unless the Israeli regime ended its occupation of Palestinian land, and Palestinians could restore their full rights as stipulated in international resolutions.