Bahrain joining US-led maritime coalition betrayal of Palestinian cause, says al-Wefaq

Bahrain's main opposition group, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, has strongly criticized the Al Khalifah regime's decision to join a US-led maritime task force in the Red Sea to protect passage of Israeli-owned and Israel-bound merchant vessels, slamming the move as a “betrayal of the Palestinian cause.”

Sheikh Hussain al-Daihi, the deputy secretary general of the group, said in a statement published on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “The Bahraini nation cannot remain silent in the face of the Al Khalifah regime’s treachery, its protection of the occupying Israeli regime’s interests and crimes, and participation in the crippling siege on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

Daihi noted that Bahrain’s participation in the coalition makes it directly involved in the everyday massacre of Palestinians at the hands of Israeli troops.

“The Bahraini nation roundly dismissed the Manama regime's participation in the coalition in the same way as it emphatically rejected the ominous normalization agreement with Zionists,” the senior opposition figure noted.

He stressed that “Bahrain should not become a tool to serve Israel's interests in the Red Sea.”

Daihi also extended his salutation to Yemeni Armed Forces for their “courage and deep faith,” praising their heroic struggle to safeguard the nation’s pride and dignity at difficult times.

Bahrain jails dissident for protesting role in US anti-Yemen coalition

Ebrahim Sharif was ordered detained pending investigation for “spreading false news during wartime.”

Bahrain and the Israeli regime established diplomatic relations in 2020 as part of the United States-brokered Abraham Accords.

Last month, the deputy speaker of Bahrain's National Assembly said members of the legislative body were pressing to reverse the normalization following the regime’s devastating war in Gaza.

Abdulnabi Salman said Bahraini lawmakers were demanding an end to diplomatic relations with Israel.

The Persian Gulf country has witnessed numerous protests since the start of normalization.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced on Monday the formation of the coalition – including Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, Spain and the UK – to patrol the Red Sea in response to Yemeni strikes being staged in support of Palestinians resisting the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.

The relentless Israeli military campaign against Gaza has killed at least 20,057 people, most of them women and children, in Gaza. More than 53,320 individuals have been wounded as well.

Reports revealed that Israeli shipping companies have already decided to reroute their vessels in fear of attacks by Yemeni forces.

Yemeni forces have also launched missile and drone attacks on targets in the Israeli-occupied territories of Palestine after the occupying regime’s aggression on Gaza.

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