Bahrain – The Parliament of Normalization

Translated by Staff, Al-Akhbar Newspaper

The Bahraini regime ended its parliamentary and municipal elections in the way it wanted: without opponents or political associations, without a real voting bloc. The regime has the arena for itself alone to continue the approach of undermining the people’s rights and maximizing the king’s despotism and his absolute powers. After the accomplishment, the king celebrates the renewal of allegiance to him according to his designed plan: isolating about 80,000 people based on their affiliation to dissolved associations, disqualifying more than 30,000 who boycotted the previous elections, and suspiciously dividing the constituencies, leading to relying mainly on naturalized persons and the military. The desired results of the electoral process are settled in the Al Khalifa agenda; it started with a vote rate that is far from the actual boycott percentage that was recorded on Election Day [11/12/2022]. The authority claims that the turnout was massive and unprecedented, and has not happened since 2002. There is no debate that “water belies the diver”, and the situation with Bahrain indicates that the popular arena and the discontent of tens of thousands of citizens and their reluctance to participate in the farce that took place confirms the regime's complete detachment from reality

After Saturday’s elections, the king had other things in mind. What was he cooking through the parliament? Of course, we are not amid a new legislative or reform map in Bahrain, as the ruler’s thinking is elsewhere. There are no popular service projects or reversal of the general tax approved by the 2014 parliament for the first time; but rather, the scheme tends to go beyond Bahraini borders: to throw itself into the “Israeli” bosom until drunkenness. Those who keep pace with instances of normalization in the region unanimously agree that Bahrain is superior to the countries that previously legalized its relationship with the “Israeli” entity. Indeed, the official rush in Manama towards Tel Aviv is almost the most active; namely, successive agreements and treaties, visits of Bahraini figures to occupied Palestine, and partnership with the “Israeli” entity in the fields of economy, finance and medicine. Recently, the authorities are preparing to announce the “Bahrain-‘Israel’ Friendship Committee” after the elections, as its main task will be to organize reciprocal rounds between the parliament and the Knesset, to be managed by the Parliamentary Division in the Gulf kingdom.

According to what is planned, no deputy will be able to bypass the “mud” of normalization. He is obliged to obey the rules of his “Majesty King” [according to official designation in the country]. The latter, who controls the laws enshrined in the executive, legislative and judicial authorities, will instruct the start of “pilgrimages” to the Knesset on a regular basis, to make the parliament a quagmire for normalization. The Bahraini representative – in contrast to the freedom granted to representatives in European countries to refuse or accept – will not have the freedom to reject visiting the occupied territories. The precedent here is the issue of forcing members of parliament to meet with the Zionists, and this confirms that the representative in Manama lives on threats and enticement, which of course compels him to respond according to the nature of the existing situation, that is, repression and the security situation.

What happened in the Salmaniya Medical Complex a few months ago may be the latest example of imposing normalization by force. There, the CEO of government hospitals, Ahmed al-Ansari, was forced to receive a delegation from the “Israeli” “Shaybah Medical Center” with the aim of joint cooperation, training and health education to develop the level of services in the Kingdom’s hospitals. The scenario of coercion was repeated with the Minister of Health, Jalila Bint Al-Sayed Jawad Hassan, who received the “Israeli” ambassador in Manama, Eitan Na’eh, and the Minister of Electricity, Wael bin Nasser Al-Mubarak, who also met with the “Israeli” Deputy Foreign Minister, Idan Roll. The same applies to “Israeli” businessmen who land in Manama in order to establish a financial, economic, commercial and agricultural partnership with Bahraini companies.

The normalization scene is now complete after Bahrain’s sham elections. It is true that the king canceled the parliament’s role in reviewing the “Abraham Agreement” that the regime signed with the “Israeli” entity in 2020, but he will revive it again for one goal: love for “Israel”. Therefore, the leaks indicate that a team from the General Secretariat of the Bahraini Parliament will travel in the coming period to Tel Aviv to see the experience of the Knesset. What is ironic about this step is the king's attempt to benefit from the legislative process in the Knesset. Apart from the enmity of the “Israelis” and their partisan pluralism, who believes that official Bahrain learns from the experiences of others? Does the repressive state understand the meaning of democracy in the first place? Do you allow political parties to participate in elections in the first place? What happened to Al Khalifa until they suddenly wanted to benefit from the performance of the Knesset? Are there no more options for Bahrain to have democratic and just countries to aspire to and train for political reform?

Although two years have passed since the signing of the agreement of treason with the “Israeli” entity, it seems so far that the “Israeli” embassy, which was inaugurated by the entity’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, on September 30, 2021, is disordered. According to information, embassy officials live in the financial tower in Manama, and there is no specific building for them. Recent data indicates a high probability that the Bahraini state may have granted land to the “Israelis” as a gift from the king to build their embassy on, but until now the location remains unknown, perhaps for fear of popular reactions opposing normalization. It is nothing but a race towards humiliation! The Bahraini king is madly in love with the “Israelis”. He carefully studies his overtures towards the “Israelis” in order to satisfy them. For him, the most important thing is his closeness to the “Israeli” embrace and not his people, no matter what the coercion and pressure on his employees and tools may cost.