Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu described the US-led Warsaw Middle East summit this week as a “historic achievement” for Israel, in relation to its increasing ties with Arab countries over Iran.
PM Netanyahu said: “Four out of five Arab foreign ministers who addressed the conference spoke strongly and clearly against Iran, saying exactly what I’ve been saying for years. They were as clear as possible about the issue, and Israel’s right to defend itself against Iranian aggression”.
Speaking to the Times of Israel on Thursday, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said that his country would “eventually” establish diplomatic ties with Israel.
In a video released after the conference by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, but later deleted, al-Khalifa said: “We got used to treating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the most important thing. But we saw that there is a greater challenge, a more toxic one, the most toxic in modern history – Iran. If it were not for Iran’s toxic money, its weapons and troops on the ground, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could have been solved already”.
UAE’s foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was asked about Israel’s military campaign against Iranian forces in Syria. He said: “Every nation has the right to defend itself, when it’s challenged by another nation, yes”.
The Warsaw meeting was attended by more than 60 countries, including 11 from the Middle East, but was boycotted by the Palestinian Authority.
