Palestine's PFLP slams Bahraini FM's remarks on Israel

By Mohamed Majed

GAZA, Palestine (AA) - A Palestinian group on Friday condemned Bahrain’s foreign minister’s call for recognizing Israel as a "country to stay".

In a statement, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed al Khalifa's remarks constituted "clear treachery", and proved that the Bahraini regime was deeply involved in supporting plans to wipe out the national Palestinian cause.

"This position contradicts the position of the brotherly people of Bahrain," the PFLP said, adding that the Bahraini people were "one of the strongest advocates of the Palestinian cause and Arab rights."

The PFLP also hailed the Bahraini people's rejection of their country's hosting the U.S. economic workshop on the Middle East.

Over past two days, activists in Bahrain have vociferously come out against the U.S.-led conference via social media, despite it being hosted by their government in Manama, with some raising Palestine flags on their homes.

The Palestinian leadership boycotted the two-day conference, which kicked off on Tuesday.

"Israel is a country in the region… and it's there to stay," Khalifa told the Times of Israel newspaper on Wednesday.

"So we do believe that Israel is a country to stay, and we want better relations with it, and we want peace with it," he added.

Bahrain -- an island country in the Gulf region -- hosted the two-day "Peace to Prosperity Workshop" to discuss the economic portion of U.S. President Donald Trump's compromise plan on Middle East, dubbed "Deal of the Century", for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Leaks to the media indicate that the Deal of the Century may urge the Palestinians to make major concessions to Israel regarding Jerusalem’s status and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine.