President Isaac Herzog arrived on Sunday in Manama, the capital of the island nation in the Persian Gulf. During his visit he will meet both the king of Bahrain and the crown prince, who is also prime minister. In February, Naftali Bennett became the first Israeli prime minister to travel to Bahrain to sign a defense deal with the country.
Herzog then travels to the United Arab Emirates, a country which, like Bahrain and Morocco, normalized relations with Israel in 2020. This alliance is seen as an attempt to reduce Iran’s influence in the Gulf region. Most Middle Eastern countries oppose normalizing ties with Israel due to the country’s treatment of Palestinians.