BAHRAIN CONDEMNS ISRAELI ACTIONS IN GAZA

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001197

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAL ASEC BA IS REGION
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN CONDEMNS ISRAELI ACTIONS IN GAZA

Classified by DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) The Bahraini Cabinet, Foreign Minister, and
parliament all condemned Israel's attacks on Gaza, arrest of
officials and parliamentarians, and destruction of
infrastructure in separate statements over the past few days.
The statements focused on perceived Israeli violations of
international law and continued Bahraini support for the
Palestinian people. A group of political and civil society
organizations held a rally July 2 outside the UN mission in
Manama to urge UN protection of Palestinians and to criticize
an international double standard in dealing with Israelis and
Palestinians. In their June 30 Friday prayer sermons, major
clerics criticized Israel's actions and U.S. protection of
Israel. Thus far the scene in Bahrain has been quiet but,
despite the distance, incidents in the Palestinian
territories can spill over into Manama's streets. We will
continue to monitor the situation closely. End Summary.

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Officials, Parliamentarians Criticize Israel
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2. (U) The Bahraini Cabinet July 2 issued a statement that
strongly condemned Israel's continued attacks on Gaza, arrest
of Palestinian officials, and "atrocious" destruction of
infrastructure. Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Shaikh
Ahmed bin Attiyatallah Al Khalifa told the press following
the Cabinet meeting that the international community should
intervene immediately to halt the Israeli "violations of
international laws and conventions." The Cabinet reaffirmed
Bahrain's "unflinching" support for the Palestinian people's
struggle for their rights, and their efforts to establish an
independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.


3. (U) The Cabinet action followed on the heels of a
statement by Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al
Khalifa on June 29 that appealed for international
intervention to stop Israeli "brutality." Shaikh Khalid
called on Israel to stop using the issue of the kidnapped
soldier as an excuse to attack innocent people and destroy
the Palestinian infrastructure.


4. (U) The elected lower house of parliament, the Council of
Representatives (COR),also issued a statement July 2
expressing great concern over the dangerous developments and
strongly denouncing Israeli aggression against the
Palestinian people. The COR stressed that the attack on the
Palestinian legislative establishment was more proof of the
"alien conduct" of Israel, which places itself above
international law. It called on the international community
to pressure Israel to release the seized parliamentarians.

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Rally In Support of Palestinians
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5. (U) A group of political and civil society organizations
held a rally July 2 outside the UN diplomatic mission in
Bahrain. The demonstrators called on the UN to protect
Palestinians from the Israeli military offensive. The
groups, which included leading Shia opposition society Al
Wifaq, the secular Al Waad society, and the Society for
Resisting Normalization with the Zionist Enemy, criticized
the international community and Arab governments for what
they described as a double standard in dealing with
Palestinians. One of the organizers told the press, "The
world is up in arms demanding the release of a soldier who
was caught in battle while placing our people under siege,
but no one bats an eye for the ten thousand-plus Palestinian
prisoners, which include many women and children."

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Clerics Denounce American Green Light for Israel
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6. (U) Major clerics addressed the Israeli actions in their
Friday prayer sermons on June 30. Shia Shaikh Ali Salman
criticized what he said was the American green light for
Israel's aggression. He complained that "money and force"
outweigh spirit, justice, and fairness. Sunni Shaikh Salah
Al Jowder said Israel's provocative acts spread hatred and
malice among nations. He continued, "All claim tolerance,
freedom, and democracy but reality negates this as innocent
civilians are being killed." Arabic daily Akhbar Al Khaleej
columnist Abdullah Al Ayoobi wrote July 2 that America is a
partner with Israel in these "crimes" against the Palestinian
people because it provides cover by using the term "right to
self-defense" to justify Israel's actions. The Palestinians
have no choice but to continue their struggle even if they
have to pay a high price.

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Comment
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7. (C) In contrast to the rhetoric of the government,
parliament, clerics, and commentators, thus far the security
scene has been quiet and we have detected no surge of public
anger over events in Gaza. We continue to monitor the
situation closely and will report any change. Despite the
physical and political distance, Bahrainis sympathize with
the plight of Palestinians and events in the territories can
spill over into the streets of Bahrain.


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