عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Bahrain Importing Settlement Products Infuriates Palestinians

Last month, Bahrain's foreign minister held Jerusalem talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Menahem KAHANA POOL/AFP/File
Last month, Bahrain's foreign minister held Jerusalem talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Menahem KAHANA POOL/AFP/File
    London, Tel Aviv- Asharq Al-Awsat
TT
TT

Bahrain Importing Settlement Products Infuriates Palestinians

Last month, Bahrain's foreign minister held Jerusalem talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Menahem KAHANA POOL/AFP/File
Last month, Bahrain's foreign minister held Jerusalem talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Menahem KAHANA POOL/AFP/File

Bahraini Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani announced Thursday that his country’s imports from Israel will not be subject to distinctions between products made within Israel and those from settlements in occupied territory, drawing a rebuke from the Palestinians.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates established official relations with Israel on September 15th, in agreements brokered by the United States.

The two Gulf States said at the time that those agreements became possible after Israel agreed to freeze the plan to annex West Bank settlements.

Most countries in the world consider the settlements illegal.

The Bahraini Minister expressed his country's openness to importing settlement products.

Zayani said Bahrain would treat Israeli products as Israeli products, regardless of their source. “We will treat Israeli products as Israeli products. So we have no issue with labeling or origin,” he told Reuters during a visit to Israel.

Under European Union guidelines, settlement products should be clearly labeled as such when exported to EU member countries. The Trump administration last month removed US customs distinctions between goods made within Israel and in settlements.

Zayani’s remarks were condemned by Wasel Abu Youssef of the Palestine Liberation Organization as “contradicting international and UN resolutions”.

Abu Youssef urged Arab countries not to import products even from inside Israel, in order to prevent it “stretching into Arab markets to strengthen its economy”.

Palestinians now fear that the rapprochement of relations between Gulf countries and Israel will seriously harm their aspirations for the establishment of their independent state.

It is not clear until now the position of the rest of the Gulf countries on importing settlements.

But an Israeli winery that uses grapes grown on the occupied Golan Heights said in September that its labels would be sold in the UAE.

Israel expects trade with Bahrain worth around $220 million in 2021, not including possible defense and tourism deals.

Zayani said Bahraini carrier Gulf Air was tentatively scheduled to begin flights to Tel Aviv on Jan. 7, with shipping to follow.

“We are fascinated by how integrated IT and innovation sector in Israel has been embedded in every facet of life,” he said.

He played down speculation in Israel that its citizens visiting Bahrain could be at risk of reprisals for the assassination last Friday of a top Iranian nuclear scientist, which Tehran blamed on Israeli agents.

“We don’t see any threats, and therefore we don’t see any requirement for additional security or special treatment for Israelis,” he said.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Iran Warns US, Israel over Syria, May Send ‘Advisors’ to Aleppo

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks at parliament. (Iranian presidency)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks at parliament. (Iranian presidency)
TT
TT

Iran Warns US, Israel over Syria, May Send ‘Advisors’ to Aleppo

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks at parliament. (Iranian presidency)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks at parliament. (Iranian presidency)

Iran warned on Sunday the United States and Israel against exploiting the situation in Syria, hinting that it may send “advisory” forces from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Aleppo city if the field developments demand it.

Speaking at a parliament session, President Masoud Pezeshkian called on Islamic countries to “resolve the problems in Syria” and prevent foreign meddling in its affairs.

“We hope countries in the region won’t allow the US and Israel to exploit internal conflicts inside any Islamic country,” he added.

“The parties expanding the war and destruction are the same ones preaching about peace, human rights and humanity,” he remarked.

On Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon, Pezeshkian noted: “Israel has killed tens of thousands of children and the parties preaching human rights have stood idly by.”

“We don’t want war or destruction. We have exerted efforts to resolve our problems with neighbors and we have worked on improving our ties with various countries,” he went on to say.

Iran has no ambitions in other countries, he declared. “We believe that the countries of the region can ensure security in the region without the need for foreign powers,” he added.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, meanwhile, described the developments in Syria as a “Zionist-American plot aimed at destabilizing the region” given the timing of the unrest soon after the ceasefire in Lebanon took effect.

“It is urgent for the reasonable voices in the region to thwart this dangerous conspiracy and confront the terrorists in Syria and the region,” he demanded, warning the US and its ally Israel that “using the terrorism card will come back to haunt them.”

MP Esmaeil Kousari said Iran may send “advisory” forces to Syria, but this depends on the developments on the ground and the “decisions of the Israeli leadership.”

Iran has often called its combat operations in Syria as “advisory” roles.

Kousari, who is also a member of the IRGC, said the attacks in Aleppo are an “American and Israeli plan to sever the Iranian supply route to Hezbollah” in Lebanon.

He noted that it was no coincidence that the attack took place soon after the ceasefire in Lebanon was declared, predicting the Israel will launch a new offensive in Lebanon as soon as the 60-day truce is over.

He called on the forces allied to Iran to fight the opposition factions in Syria to prevent them from forming permanent bases in Aleppo and northern Syria. “They must be defeated to ensure the link between Syria and Hezbollah remains,” he urged.

He acknowledged that the number of Iranian advisors in Syria had dropped significantly in recent years, saying that had it been greater, they would have acted immediately against the opposition fighters.

Iranian-backed militias entered Syria overnight from Iraq and were heading to northern Syria to beef up beleaguered Syrian army forces battling opposition fighters, according to two Syrian army sources, reported Reuters on Monday.

Dozens of Iran-aligned Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters from Iraq also crossed into Syria through a military route near Al-Bukamal crossing, a senior Syrian army source told Reuters.

Iran sent thousands of Shiite militias to Syria during the Syrian war and, alongside Russia with its air power, enabled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to crush the opposition and regain most of his territory.

Israel has also in recent months stepped up its strikes on Iranian bases in Syria while also waging an offensive in Lebanon which it says has weakened Hezbollah and its military capabilities.