Bahrainis hold fresh rallies against Israeli normalization, Al Khalifah regime

People in Bahrain have taken to the streets across the Persian Gulf island country to condemn the normalization of relations with the Tel Aviv regime and recent visits by Israeli officials to Manama.

Stomping on the Zionist regime's flag, the protesters chanted slogans against the Israeli regime's officials and their mercenaries.

During their protest rallies on Friday, the demonstrators also marked the eleventh anniversary of the February 14 uprising against the Al Khalifah regime as it continues its heavy-handed crackdown on dissent in the tiny Persian Gulf country.

Bahrain, along with the United Arab Emirates, signed a peace pact with the Tel Aviv regime in a ceremony hosted by then US president Donald Trump at the White House in September 2020. Sudan and Morocco followed suit later in the year and inked similar US-brokered normalization deals with the occupying regime.

Senior Israeli officials, including prime minister Naftali Bennett and minister of military affairs Benny Gantz, have recently visited Manama. Bennett’s trip marked the first visit by an Israeli premier since Manama and Tel Aviv established ties under the 2020 US-sponsored normalization deal.

Gantz's visit to Bahrain earlier this month also sparked widespread protests across the country. He was accompanied by several top military officials, including Israeli navy chief Admiral David Saar Salama. Gantz and his Bahraini counterpart Abdulla bin Hasan Al Nuaimi signed a security pact.

According to the agreement, which was signed between the two sides for the first time since the normalization of 2020, they agreed to boost strategic security cooperation. However, no more details about the pact have so far been given by both sides.

In a statement, Bahrain’s main opposition group discredited the "security agreement" that reportedly paves the way for "intelligence and military training cooperation" between the occupying regime and Manama.

The al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said the deal lacks all legitimacy, asserting that Bahrain’s ruling Al Khalifah regime “does not have any popular mandate” for entering such agreements with the Israeli regime.

In a statement carried by the state news agency on Saturday, Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry confirmed media reports that an Israeli officer will be stationed in the tiny Persian Gulf country, which plays host to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Bahrain admits Israeli officer will be stationed in Persian Gulf state

Bahrain confirms media reports that an Israeli officer will be stationed in the Persian Gulf country, which plays host to the US Navy

Earlier media reports said the Tel Aviv regime is set to dispatch a naval officer to an official post in Bahrain, marking the first time an Arab country will openly host a stationed Israeli military dignitary. The officer will travel to Bahrain in the next few weeks. He will serve as a liaison for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, according to Israel’s Channel 13 TV.

Demonstrators in Bahrain share one central demand. They want the Al Khalifah regime to relinquish power and allow a just system representing all Bahrainis to be established. Manama, however, has gone to considerable lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent.

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