Bahrain will continue to build bilateral ties with Israel following last week’s general election in the Jewish state, a top Bahraini official said on Saturday.
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-religious bloc secured victory in the elections, with 64 out of 120 Knesset seats.
“We have an agreement with Israel, part of the Abraham Accords, and we will stick to our agreement and we expect it to continue in the same line and continue building our partnership together,” said Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, according to Reuters.
The diplomatic adviser to the Sunni Muslim country’s king added that Netanyahu’s victory was “normal and always expected,” adding, “We will want to make an example and succeed together and face all the threats,” in an apparent reference to shared concerns over Iran.
Netanyahu was prime minister when Israel in 2020 normalized ties with several Arab states, including Bahrain, under pacts brokered by the Trump administration.
The comments out of Manama come just days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that his country’s rapprochement with Israel would continue irrespective of the outcome of Tuesday’s vote. Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati also stressed that the U.S. would ensure the recent maritime border deal between Jerusalem and Beirut remains in force, regardless of the election results.