‘Very Productive Tenure’: Bahrain’s First Envoy to Israel Arrives in Tel Aviv

Jerusalem, 31 August, 2021 (TPS) -- Khaled Al Jalahma, Bahrain’s first ambassador to the Jewish state, arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to begin his tenure.

“You are most welcome to Israel, Ambassador Al Jalahma. We are looking forward to what will no doubt be a very productive tenure, advancing relations between our two countries,” stated Alon Ushpiz, director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Al-Jalahma has been the Director of Operations of the Bahraini Foreign Office since 2017 and served as Deputy Ambassador of Bahrain to the US from 2009 to 2013.

The Israeli embassy in Manama, Bahrain, has been active since January and is headed by Israeli Chargé d’Affaires Itay Tagner.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed a historic peace agreement with Israel at the White House on September 15, the first agreement to be signed between Israel and an Arab country in 25 years.

The UAE was the first major Arab state to recognize Israel since the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty was signed in October 1994.

Announced on August 13, 2020, the Abraham Accords is the first between a Gulf state and Israel and is expected to lead to similar agreements with other Arab countries, possibly Oman or Saudi Arabia.

Israel and Sudan announced the normalization of ties in October 2020. Morocco joined the Abraham Accords in December 2020.