On Saturday, Bahraini sources affirmed that an Israeli navy officer would be stationed in the Kingdom.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement related to the latest appointment of an Israeli officer. In the statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the move is related to an international coalition “to secure the freedom of navigation in the region.”
The announcement came following media reports that circulated on Friday stating that an Israeli officer had been sent to Bahrain to serve as a liaison officer for the US Fifth Fleet.
“What has been circulated in some foreign media about the appointment of an Israeli officer is part of arrangements related to an international coalition that includes more than 34 countries,” the ministry statement said.
According to the statement, the coalition is responsible for “securing freedom of navigation in territorial waters, protect international trade, and confront acts of piracy and terrorism in the region.”
The ministry did not disclose any further information regarding the coalition and the details of the post that the Israeli officer would assume.
However, some reports circulated by local and Israeli media asserted that the official would be employed in Manama perennially in the coming weeks, referring to a defense cooperation agreement inked during Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s visit to the Kingdom earlier this month.
In 2020, Bahrain signed the US-backed normalization agreement with Israeli alongside three other Arab countries, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sudan, and Morocco.
