Israel, Bahrain formalise ties

MANAMA, Oct 19 (Reuters): Bahrain and Israel signed a joint communique to formalise nascent ties during a visit by an Israeli and US delegation to Manama on Sunday to broaden cooperation that Washington has promoted as an anti-Iran bulwark and potential economic bonanza.

Bahrain followed the United Arab Emirates in agreeing last month to normalise ties with Israel, stunning Palestinians who had demanded statehood before any such regional rapprochement.

The breakthrough, overseen by US President Donald Trump, is a foreign policy flourish ahead of his bid for re-election next month. For the US allies, it is a chance to close ranks on Iran more overtly.

The Israeli delegation, which flew on an El Al Israel Airlines charter flight from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, was accompanied by US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

"It was indeed an historic visit, to start opening relations between both countries," Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al-Zayani said after the signing ceremony with Israel's Foreign Ministry director general Alon Ushpiz and National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat.

Al-Zayani touched elbows with Ben-Shabbat, who described the step as a "promising beginning" and said the Israeli delegation was accepted "with open arms, with warmth and cordiality."

Israel and Bahrain, host to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, signed a "Declaration of Peace, Cooperation, and Constructive Diplomatic and Friendly Relations" at a White House ceremony on Sept. 15, a document that fell short of a formal treaty.

The accord has drawn anger among Bahrainis at home and abroad. The government of Bahrain, where a Sunni Muslim minority rules a Shi'ite majority population, has said the deal protects its interests from Iran.

Al-Zayani said engagement and cooperation were the most effective and sustainable way of bringing about genuine and lasting peace in the region, and said his country supported resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through dialogue.

Mnuchin described the accord as an important step in regional stability and "just the beginning of the work that is going forward".

"I think the opportunity is way beyond just investments," Mnuchin earlier told reporters on the El Al flight. "It's in technology, building various different businesses - and in the case of Bahrain as well, really expanding the opportunities for them quite, quite, quite dramatically."