Israel, Bahrain sign deal establishing formal ties
Jerusalem: Israel and Bahrain on Sunday agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations, making the small Gulf country the fourth Arab state to normalize ties with Israel.
The US-brokered agreement capped a one-day visit by a high-level delegation of American and Israeli officials to Bahrain.
Bahrain joined the United Arab Emirates at a festive White House ceremony last month marking the Abraham Accords, a pair of U.S.-brokered diplomatic pacts with Israel. While the UAE's deal with Israel formally established ties, the agreement with Bahrain was less detailed and included a mutual pledge to follow suit.
Sunday's visit appeared to complete that task, clearing the way for the countries to open embassies and exchange ambassadors in the coming months.
It was indeed an historic visit, to start opening relations between both countries, to have fruitful bilateral relations in both fields, said Bahrain's foreign minister, Abdullatif al-Zayani, at the signing ceremony.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser, Meir Ben-Shabbat, led the delegations.
Today we made the first formal step in bringing closer ties between the countries, Ben-Shabbat said. "We were accepted with open arms, with warmth and cordiality. This is an important step in stability in the region, in bring prosperity to all the people in the region and in the countries, added Mnuchin.
Israel's agreements with the UAE and Bahrain have marked diplomatic victories for the Trump administration and for Netanyahu.
But they have come under heavy criticism from the Palestinians, who have long counted on a unified Arab stance that recognition of Israel should come only after the Palestinians achieve an independent state of their own. The agreements reflect a shifting Middle East, in which shared concerns about Iran and business opportunities have overshadowed the Palestinian issue.
The Palestinians have severed ties with the White House, accusing it of being unfairly biased toward Israel. U.S. officials have in turn cultivated ties between Israel and Arab states, hoping to increase pressure on the Palestinians to reduce past demands in peace talks.
Bahraini civil society groups and opposition figures, already targeted in a yearslong crackdown on dissent, have also spoken out against normalization with Israel.
Israel's commercial El Al flight 973 - a nod to the international dialing code for Bahrain - flew through Saudi Arabia's airspace en route to Manama. Although Saudi Arabia has not normalized ties with Israel, it has signaled tacit support for the moves by its Gulf neighbors, which reflect shared concerns about Iran.
The El Al flight landed at Bahrain International Airport on Sunday afternoon. The kingdom's state-owned television channels did not carry the arrival live.
Bahrain's state-run news agency later published pictures of the arrival, acknowledging the Israeli officials were there to sign documents establishing diplomatic relations between the kingdom of Bahrain and the state of Israel, in addition to a number of memoranda of understanding in the areas of joint cooperation.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Iran crisis: 225 flights cancelled at Mumbai, Delhi airports
New Delhi (PTI): As many as 225 international flights were cancelled at Mumbai and Delhi airports on Sunday due to operational disruptions in the wake of the US and Israel attacks on Iran and the subsequent closure of airspaces in the Gulf region.
Of the 225 flights, 125 flights were cancelled at Mumbai airport and at least 100 flights at Delhi Airport, sources say.
A source said 60 international departures and 40 arrivals have been cancelled at Delhi Airport.
"Due to the evolving political situation in the Middle East, west-bound international flights may experience disruptions or schedule changes," DIAL said in a post on X.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) operates the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital.
"A total of 125 flights have been cancelled at Mumbai Airport up till 2.30 pm on Sunday. These include 67 departures and 58 arrivals," said another source.
It may be mentioned here that due to the paucity of parking space, authorities at Mumbai Airport had taken NOTAM for not accepting any flight on account of diversion at 9 pm on Saturday until 8 am on March 1 amid the developments in West Asia.
The decision was taken due to the paucity of parking space at the airport with a number of flights returning to their origin or diverting to nearby airports, a source had said.
Mumbai International Airport Ltd, the private airport operator, issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) "for not accepting any more diversions" at 9 pm, the source added.
Earlier, the Civil Aviation Ministry said 444 international flights are expected to be cancelled by domestic carriers on Sunday.
