Young Bahraini man sentenced to jail over torching Israeli flag: Report

A court in Bahrain has sentenced a young man to three years in jail on charges of torching the Israeli flag during a gathering in support of the Palestinians, amid increasing normalization of diplomatic ties between the Tel Aviv regime and Persian Gulf Arab countries.

News ID: 449087

Date: 16 February 2020 - 10:51

RNA - Bahrain's Supreme Court of Appeal refused to hear the man's appeal, and issued the ruling after finding him guilty of “endangering the life and property of people, disturbing public security and disrupting traffic,” Arabic-language Bahrain Mirror news website reported.

The court ruled that the young man, whose identity was not immediately available, together with ten other people blocked the street at the entrance to the northern village of Abu Saiba on the night of May 30, 2019, poured petroleum on the lumber they had taken there and set fire to it in order to prevent Bahraini security forces from reaching them.

They then torched an Israeli flag in support of the Palestinian cause.

The development comes amid incraesing normalization between Israel and Persian Gulf Arab countries.

The Britain-based and Arabic-language Bahrain al-Youm news agency, citing an unnamed diplomatic source, reported on October 24 last year that Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah had held a secret meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu in Hungary.

The report said the meeting was held last April, when the 70-year-old Bahraini monarch paid a visit to the Hungarian capital city of Budapest under the guise of holding talks with President Janos Ader and strengthening bilateral relations.

The source added that the meeting was held as a preparatory event for the so-called Peace to Prosperity workshop, which opened in Bahrain on June 25 and ran through the following day.

It apparently sought to advance the economic aspects of President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for “peace” between the Israeli regime and the Palestinians, dubbed “the deal of the century.”

The Palestinian leadership boycotted the meeting, prompting critics to question the credibility of the event.

The secret meeting between the Bahraini ruler and Netanyahu was described as intimate, and took place while the Israeli prime minister was on holiday with his family. The holiday was cut short for a day. Netanyahu traveled to Budapest to meet King Hamad, and then returned the same day without any media coverage, the diplomat pointed out.

The source went on to say that the Bahraini king had expressed his great satisfaction with the meeting, stating that the relations with Israel must develop beyond diplomatic ties, and that he is looking forward to the formation of alliance in various political, security and military fields with the Tel Aviv regime against Iran.

During the meeting, King Hamad stressed that he represents Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in their aspirations towards forging relations with Israel, and that the security of the Tel Aviv regime is the security of the Arab littoral states of the Persian Gulf.

Netanyahu, for his part, praised the Bahraini king and his initiatives to normalize relations with Israel. The Israeli prime minister also admired Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his outright aggressive policy towards Iran, the diplomat said.

847/940