Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain informed Israel more than two years ago that it was interested in normalizing relations, an Israeli TV station claimed Sunday, amid persistent reports that Israel has been close to establishing ties with an Arab state.

According to a report on Israel's Channel 13 news, on Sunday (February 11, 2019) Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa held a clandestine meeting with former foreign minister Tzipi Livni on the sidelines of the 2017 Munich Security Conference.

During the meeting, Khalid reportedly told Livni that the king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, had decided to move toward normalized relations with Israel and asked her to convey the message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which she did.

The report quoted unnamed senior Israeli officials. Livni refused to comment, Channel 13 said.

The report did not specify why the breakthrough had not occurred.

Arabic Version