Bahrain Appoints Head of Diplomatic Mission to Israel

The flags of Israel and Bahrain flutter along a road in Netanya, Israel September 14, 2020. (Reuters)
The flags of Israel and Bahrain flutter along a road in Netanya, Israel September 14, 2020. (Reuters)
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Bahrain Appoints Head of Diplomatic Mission to Israel

The flags of Israel and Bahrain flutter along a road in Netanya, Israel September 14, 2020. (Reuters)
The flags of Israel and Bahrain flutter along a road in Netanya, Israel September 14, 2020. (Reuters)

Bahrain has appointed Khalid Al Jalahma as head of its diplomatic mission to Israel, state news agency BNA reported on Tuesday following a deal to establish relations last year.

Jalahma was previously director of the operations directorate at Bahrain’s foreign ministry and had also served as deputy chief of mission at the kingdom’s embassy in the United States.

The Israeli foreign ministry said that a team from Bahrain would arrive in Israel in coming weeks to make the necessary arrangements for the Bahraini embassy.

Bahrain’s move closely followed the United Arab Emirates’ naming of an ambassador to Israel after the two Gulf Arab states signed agreements last September to normalize ties with Israel in US-brokered deals.



Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa received a delegation from Bahrain on Wednesday and met with the Bahraini foreign minister, state media reported.

The visit was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic overtures by Arab countries to Syria’s new leaders after they overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.

Like other Gulf countries, Bahrain had cut off diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad’s rule during the Syrian civil war, but it reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018 and gradually restored ties with the Assad government.

Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit, and days after Assad’s ouster it had sent a message to al-Sharaa offering its cooperation with the new authorities and saying, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.”