Bahrain and Israel will sign on Sunday an interim agreement to establish diplomatic relations, including the opening of two embassies, at a ceremony to be held in Manama with an American presence, in accordance with the requirements of the normalization agreement signed by the two sides in Washington last month.
Hebrew media said that Israel had responded to Bahrain’s request not to sign a comprehensive "peace treaty" at this stage due to internal criticisms against normalization.
The Israel Broadcasting Corporation stated that US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin would lead the joint Israeli-American delegation to sign the agreement.
American delegation tour
The US delegation headed by Mnuchin left Washington last night on its way to the Middle East, where it will tour Israel, Bahrain and the UAE between 17 and 20 October, according to a statement issued by the Treasury Department.
The signing of the interim agreement comes a month after the UAE and Bahrain signed two agreements to formally normalize relations with Israel, making them the first Arab countries to take this step in 25 years.
The move sparked popular anger in the Arab world and condemnation from the Palestinian leaders as a betrayal of the Palestinian people and their rights.
The Israeli newspaper, Yediot Aharonot, said Thursday that US officials will accompany the Israeli delegation on board a Boeing 737 that is heading to Manama.
This is not the first flight between the two sides, as Israel previously announced the launch of a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Manama through Saudi airspace on September 23.
At that time, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that the plane had taken Israeli official figures to hold talks aimed at setting up a headquarters for the Israeli airline, "Israir", in the Bahraini capital.