Bahrain king reminds Israeli president of “legitimate rights of Palestinians” during unprecedented visit to Arab country
The controversy sparked by the inclusion in the new Israeli coalition government of a deputy from the homophobic party Noam, Avi Maoz, today forced the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to justify the decision and calm agitated minds. The leader has assured that the country’s LGBTQ community will continue to enjoy the protections of the executive, despite Maoz being put in charge of a special department in charge of citizenship rights and education projects in the country.
“I do not intend to harm them in the slightest. I’m not saying it now. I’ve always had both hands on the wheel and in the end politics are determined by me,” he said in statements to the Meet the Press program on the American network NBC.
Netanyahu has thus responded to criticisms such as that of Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, who warned on Friday that the country is moving toward a “fascist theocracy” with the inclusion of elements related to ultra-nationalism and religious fundamentalism in the new Israeli executive power. . . He was referring to the appointment of Maoz and also to the alliance with the radical religious-Zionist coalition.
Even members of Netanyahu’s own party, the Likud, acknowledged that the concessions made to Maoz during the coalition negotiations were a mistake, according to reports broadcast on Channel 12.
These sources explained that the negotiators were not aware of the importance of the powers given to Maoz, who, in addition to the power to decide on the conditions of citizenship, could also impose educational content through conferences of organizations outside the Ministry of Education, in what has been considered for all intents and purposes its own “Jewish identity division”. “We gave him the keys to the kingdom and now it’s too late to turn back,” they added.
On the other hand, the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, today met with the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, in what marks the first visit by an Israeli head of state to the small Arab kingdom of the Gulf since it was They normalized relations in 2020.
At the meeting, the monarch defended the “legitimate rights of the Palestinians” and reiterated his country’s “steadfast position” in reaching “a fair, comprehensive and lasting solution that guarantees the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.” .
Regarding this conflict, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assured in statements to J Street, a progressive pro-Israel group, that Washington will oppose Israeli settlements or the annexation of the West Bank, but promised the government Netanyahu’s incoming party because of its actions and not because of the far-right profile of any of its members.
Source: La Verdad
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