By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH (AA) – The Palestinian Education Ministry on Monday refused to meet with a non-government delegation from Bahrain that had earlier visited Israel for talks with Israeli officials.
In a statement, the ministry said it would not receive the delegation at any of its schools in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, going on to call on all UNRWA-run schools in the Palestinian territories to refuse to welcome the delegation.
Israeli media said Sunday the delegation from non-governmental the group “This is Bahrain” had arrived in Israel on a four-day visit for talks with Israeli officials, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
According to Israeli Channel Two, the delegation, which includes religious figures, met with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv to deliver a “message of peace and brotherhood”.
The broadcaster said the delegation had visited Jerusalem’s Old City, where the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is located. It further claimed that the Bahraini delegation said Jewish synagogues would be restored in Bahrain and that there was no obstacle to visit by Israeli citizens to the Gulf country.
The group, for its part, said in a statement on Sunday that the visit to Israel was not initiated by Bahraini authorities, but by the group itself.
Bahrain has no official diplomatic ties with Israel.
The visit came amid tension across the Palestinian territories and Arab and Muslim countries over Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem — now occupied by Israel — might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
