Bahrain backtracked on a statement made by a government minister last week, who said that products imported to the Gulf state from settlements in Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights could be labeled as “Made in Israel.”
BNA, Bahrain’s state news agency, reported on Friday that an official source had denied statements by Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani that products originating in those areas would be considered to have come from Israel.
“The minister’s statement was misinterpreted and the ministry is committed to the Bahraini government’s unwavering stance regarding adherence to the resolutions of the United Nations, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation concerning the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights,” the BNA report said.
On Thursday, the Bahraini minister answered a question about settlement product labeling during a briefing in Jerusalem with a group of Israeli journalists, including The Jerusalem Post.
“Without going into details and border lines, Israeli products or services... will be treated as Israeli,” he said, adding: “We will recognize them as Israeli products.”
Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani clarified Manama’s policy in a phone conversation with Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Malki, according to a statement released by the PA. The Bahraini Foreign Ministry did not give details of the call.
The PA said that the Bahraini foreign minister assured Malki that there was no change in the Gulf kingdom’s position toward the Palestinians and settlements.
“Al Zayani stressed that this claim attributed to the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism completely contradicts his country’s position of supporting the Palestinian cause and rejecting settlements and annexation,” the PA statement said.
The “annexation” refers to Israel’s shelved plan to apply its sovereignty to portions of the West Bank in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Al Zayani reportedly told Malki that Bahrain remains committed to international law and United Nations resolutions, especially Security Council Resolution 2334.
Adopted on December 23, 2016, the resolution states that Israel’s settlement activity constitutes a “flagrant violation” of international law and has “no legal validity.” It demands that Israel stop such activity and fulfill its obligations as an “occupying power” under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The PA quoted the Bahraini foreign minister as saying that his country “stands with the right of the Palestinian people to their independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital, and that this firm position is expressed on every occasion and will not change.”
Bahrain was one of 145 countries to vote in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution on Wednesday that called on member states “to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967,” saying that they should not give Israel any aid to go to those territories.
Israel and Bahrain signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations in the framework of the US-brokered Abraham Accords in September, which Israel ratified in November.
The extension of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria was suspended in conjunction with the peace and normalization agreements.