TEL AVIV (Dispatches) --
Israeli media reported that the president of the occupying regime, Isaac Herzog, altered the schedule of his visit to Bahrain on Sunday, citing demonstrations in the country against him and the Al Khalifa’ regime’s normalization with Israel.
Haaretz reported that Herzog traveled to Bahrain “under intense security following protests against the Israeli leader that have taken place over the past days”.
During his visit, Herzog would be meeting Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, after which he will be traveling to Abu Dhabi to participate in a space conference held by the UAE.
Maariv newspaper said Israel’s greatest fear was that Iran would attempt to obstruct Herzog’s visit to Bahrain.
Earlier, Herzog planned to meet members of the local Jewish community, and then hold a meeting with the Bahrain Economic Development Board.
Israel’s Channel 12 said the so-called security service Shin Bet had decided to boost Herzog’s security detail for the trip following an online social media campaign from Bahraini opposition activists.
Demonstrations continued as Herzog arrived in Manama. The demonstrators raised the Bahraini and Palestinian flags and chanted slogans condemning Herzog’s visit and normalization with the Zionist regime, amid strict security measures imposed by the Bahraini police and security forces.
Top Bahraini cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim said “normalization is a betrayal of the Palestinian cause and the Arab nation”.
Earlier, Bahrain’s main opposition Al-Wefaq Society called for active participation in an electronic demonstration coinciding with the visit of the Zionist president. The group affirmed that the position of the Bahraini people is firm in advocating the Palestinian cause and rejecting normalization with Tel Aviv.
People staged fresh demonstrations across the Persian Gulf country. Protesters in Al-Markh chanted slogans in protest against normalization of ties, voiced solidarity
with the Palestinian nation in their struggle against the occupying regime and called for expulsion of Israeli tourists from Bahrain.
“We shall never accept humiliation,” “Normalization is treason” and “Bahrain is the cemetery of Zionists”, the demonstrators changed as they stepped on the Israeli flag.
A similar rally was held in the village of Al-Daih, where participants held up placards against Herzog’s visit and normalization of relations with the occupying regime of Israel. They waved Palestinian national flags and chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
Elsewhere in the coastal village of Dumistan, demonstrators called for immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners.
Herzog’s visit to Bahrain coincided with the brutal killing of a young Palestinian by a Zionist soldier in the occupied West Bank town of Huwwara near Nablus.
The occupying regime’s incoming security minister hailed the killing as “precise, swift and rigorous”, calling the shooter a “hero”.
Itamar Ben-Gvir said the soldier had carried out a job “well done” in fatally shooting 22-year-old Ammar Mefleh, whose martyrdom was caught on video and shared widely on social media.
In the video, the soldier - who has not been identified - scuffled with Mefleh before pulling a gun and firing two shots that sent the youth to ground before shooting him twice more.
Zionist forces have claimed that Mefleh had tried to carry out a stabbing attack before he was fatally shot. However, in the video Mefleh’s hands are empty during the scuffle with the solider, including during the moments in which he was shot.
Rights groups denounced the shooting as an “execution” in “broad daylight”.
Following the incident, Jewish Voice for Peace on Friday called on the U.S. to cut off all military funding to the occupying regime of Israel, highlighting that Mefleh was the ninth Palestinian martyred by the Israeli military this week.
The International Human Rights Foundation said the shooting “must not go unpunished”, calling for sanctions against Israel.
“Such assassinations by agents of the Israeli regime are too common and constitute a clear violation of human rights. The International Community must adopt sanctions,” the group said in a post on Twitter.
For his part, Tor Wennesland, UN special envoy for the Middle East Peace Process, offered his “heartfelt condolences” to Mefleh’s family while demanding accountability. “Such incidents must be fully & promptly investigated, & those responsible held accountable,” Wennesland said.
Ben-Gvir, a far-right lawyer whose Jewish Power party last week signed its first coalition deal with Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, has surged into the mainstream in recent months despite his extreme views.
Among other controversial remarks are his frequent categorization of Arab colleagues as “terrorists”. He has called for the deportation of his political opponents.
Still, Ben-Gvir is set to be appointed to the new role of minister of security, with significantly extended powers.