In a brave step, the Kingdom of Bahrain once again opened new horizons for the consolidation and spread of tolerance. Under the directives of King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa, support for peace with Israel was announced, through which Bahrain took a step in accordance with sovereignty of its national decision and supreme interest. It is deemed a historic accomplishment, the contours of which Manama formulated wisely and astutely, and announced transparently and responsibly.
It is an agreement that opens a window of hope to the region’s peoples, who have suffered for dozens of years from conflicts, wars, and unrest, while all monotheistic religions call for peace and harmony. Bahrain, which has always been home to human civilizations and an exemplar of coexistence and tolerance, has always believed that declaring support for peace with Israel renders better opportunities for the two nations of Israel and Palestine, and achieves stability in the region and the world.
It is perhaps a fateful circumstance that I lived, by virtue of being born and growing up in Bahrain, many of the features of the conflict whose time to end has come, a conflict whose only consequences a reasonable person would find are hate and bigotry. One who follows the conflict that has been ongoing for around 70 years will find that the Arabs and Israelis have achieved through negotiation what they failed to attain on the front and war battlefields.
Bahrain, with its partners and allies, has always advocated the idea that peace is the inevitable key to solutions for disputes, stemming from His Majesty’s belief in the exigency of spreading the culture of peace around the world and his continued affirmation of the importance of intensifying efforts for ending the Palestinian- Israeli conflict.
Diplomacy taught me that the path of peace is a lifeline for all of us, and during the five years I spent as the ambassador of my country Bahrain to the United States, I realized that we are all searching for peace. Today I am entitled to say, full of pride in my country Bahrain and hope for the future, that this is a historical juncture that will take the Middle East to a new era, one of rejuvenation, prosperity and development, an era without the epidemic of violence, extremism and terrorism. This is the moment when Bahrain, which always works with brethren, friends and allies to ensure that peace prevails, confirms that it is the home of peace and the voice of sound reason and percipient wisdom, and has always adhered to international decisions regarding the establishment of diplomatic relations on the basis of mutual respect and national interests.
The Palestinian- Israeli conflict has scattered pages of pain that shall be erased with the peace of the courageous. The region’s peoples have suffered from the repercussions of poverty, unemployment, emigration, limited educational opportunities, and poor health care. Bahrain believes in uniting visions and coordinating efforts by investing in the region’s resources, and that the capabilities of the region’s peoples and its strategic location will be unwavering in the face of the well-known evil claws that are openly hostile to us all, that gamble with the security of our homelands, and pursue adventures that endanger their sons by sending them to losing battles.
Just as Bahrain recognizes that the pleasure of peace will defeat the bitterness of strife, it also knows that declaring its support for peace with the state of Israel is in line with its efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative that aims for a better future full of hope and optimism, with security and stability, where mutual recognition of rights to coexistence prevails. Everyone is facing an opportunity that may not recur, testing their seriousness in adopting peace as a means for reconciliation and the consolidation of alliances, as peace is not just a document that one signs; rather, it entrenches values and principles. This is Bahrain’s message to the entire world.
Our leaders have smashed the rock of deadlock with their awareness and courage, and stirred still waters with their insightful vision, while invigorated and cultured peoples are yearning for life and are fed up with conflicts and strife. They have very much understood the magnitude of sinister intentions and conspiracies. To this end I took a logical view of the declaration of support for peace with Israel and saw in it a genuine manifestation of Bahrain’s momentous legacy of tolerance and reconciliation that turned the page on a history burdened with pain, fear and uncertainty, in the hopes of reaping the fruits of this peace, development, prosperity, science and progress, thereby serving humanity. For all these reasons, we must not let them down, as one day our children will grow up and the peace of the courageous ought to be the legacy we leave behind for them. Let us work together with determination and vigor to bring them joy, and let us sow the seeds of peace, so that they may bloom in a world of harmony, love and friendship.
