An Israeli Knesset delegation visited Bahrain Thursday, ahead of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference hosted in Manama next weekend.
Under the Trump administration, the Abraham Accords normalized relations between Bahrain and Israel resulting in new economic and military cooperation benefits for both sides.
According to reports, this first official Israeli parliamentary delegation to Manama will meet the Emirati envoy, the Middle East committee of the IPU, and address complaints against the Jewish state raised by some of the 179 members of the organization.
MP officials like Danny Danon, a former Israeli representative for the United Nations (UN), is heading the delegation in Bahrain.
“Today, the first official Knesset delegation since the signing of the Abraham accords set out for Bahrain,” Oshy Ellman, spokesperson for Ambassador Danon said to The Foreign Desk. "We are traveling to Bahrain to represent Israel at the IPU to promote the issues important to Israel," Ellman said.
"The delegation's central challenge will be convincing other nations to join the sanctions on Iran. I'm sure that with diligent efforts and hard work, we can attain significant achievements for the state of Israel through the IPU."
According to media reports, Israel expects to face condemnation during a five-day conference by members of Arab countries for its actions against Palestinian terrorists, which many speculate will lead the Israeli delegation to pushback.
The delegation is set to discuss critical issues like the Islamic Republic of Iran's growing nuclear program and how Jerusalem and Manama can cooperate to prevent such efforts, including imposing sanctions on Tehran.
The visit by the Israeli delegation comes as the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to face mounting protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police for her hijab wear. Following the protests last year in September, the Islamic Republic has blamed Israel and its allies for inciting the protests to overthrow the regime. For the past few months, the ayatollahs in Tehran have strengthened Islamic terrorist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite Iraqi groups in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen.
With the newly signed Abraham Accords in 2020, Israel and Arab states like Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have engaged in military drills by land, sea, and air, sending a message to Iran that a united front stands ready to confront the mullahs and their terrorist proxies.
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