Israel welcomed a delegation of leaders and activists from Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in December 2020. Photo: Courtesy.

Bahrain’s first-ever ambassador to Israel, Khaled Yousif Al-Jalahma, said it was a “great honor” to have handed his credentials to President Isaac Herzog on the eve of the anniversary of the historic Abraham Accords.

“Courageous countries are taking bold steps. We welcome you with warm feelings of friendship and respect and affection between our nations as we had made history in the last year together,” said President Herzog. “The growing partnership between our two countries is a model for the entire Middle East and I hope that other countries in the region will be inspired by your example.”

The appointment of Al-Jalahma comes after Bahrain and the UAE in Sept. 2020 agreed to formalize their diplomatic ties with Israel under the so-called “Abraham Accords” brokered with the help of the US administration.

Al-Jalahama has served as the Director of Operations of the Bahraini Foreign Office since 2017 and was previously Deputy Ambassador of Bahrain to the United States (2009-2013).

“I’m so proud that we took this brave step last year to work hand-in-hand towards peace, security and stability in the world. We have a lot to do together and I’m sure that we will be successful at making this relationship a prosperous one that will benefit all the region in the world as a whole,” Al-Jalahama said.

Herzog emphasized the importance of being united as “new and credible” reports warn about Iran’s progress toward nuclear weapons capacity.

“It is more important than ever to be united in the fight against extremist forces working to undermine stability and peace in our region,” Herzog remarked.

In response, Al-Jalahma said that “peace is the strategic choice of the Kingdom of Bahrain. His Majesty the King believes that dialogue, understanding, and building trust are lofty principles and the main basis for achieving cooperation between nations.”

“I am confident that this historic step will lay a stable foundation for the relations between our countries, based on the values of tolerance and coexistence between peoples, beliefs, and religions,” he added.

Following the reception ceremony held at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, Herzog also spoke in Arabic to congratulate Al-Jalahma on becoming Bahrain’s first ambassador to Israel.

To mark the first anniversary of the signing of the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE, the Emirates’ embassy in Israel on Tuesday posted giant banners on buildings along the main roads in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which read in Hebrew and Arabic “Peace is the future of our children” and showed both the Israeli and UAE flags.