Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is experiencing a critical situation, as he witnesses the country, including those residing within it, expressing complete outrage at the Zionist massacres in Gaza that have not stopped for nearly four months. At the same time, he is subjected to severe pressure, especially with his commitments under which he relinquishes sovereignty and political decision making.

The king rules a small island where more than half of its people have opposed him for more than a decade. The Shiite community, which has been subjected to abuse and oppression since 2011, holds him personally responsible for dozens of martyrs and thousands of political prisoners and displaced people, which they have a hard time forgeting.

The tense political situation was reflected in the economic situation, and the government's errors appeared clearly with the decline in oil prices, while the billions of the Gulf Marshal program failed to cover this. The economic failure was exacerbated by the Crown Prince's control of matters and his adoption of harsh neoliberal policies, which rendered the people even poorer. This was all due to the extravagance and playing with funds and resources by the country's heads and lesser officials alike.

Nonetheless, all these problems, which seem complicated, did not change the nature of the historic opportunity that was presented to the king on a golden platter. Following the Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent statement of his rejection of the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state, all Arabs, especially the normalizers, now have an opportunity to wash away the shame that has befallen them, as a result of the ill-fated agreements.

The king of the country today appears to have a real opportunity to gain some popularity by withdrawing from the normalization agreements and ending any direct or indirect relations with the Israeli entity. While such a step may not be supported publicly by the United States, it certainly will not reject it secretly. How could it when it may contribute to putting pressure on Netanyahu to provide a commitment, albeit verbally, to the American President, which would help him in the elections scheduled to be held at the end of this year.

Such a step might gain the king some popularity and not cost him much politically, but unfortunately what the government that implements his directives is doing is completely inconsistent with what we call for and hope for. Official statistics issued by the Israeli government indicate that Bahrain was the third most important port for receiving Israeli cargo in 2023 after the entity closed the ports due to its war on Gaza (a report issued by the Israeli Ministry of Economy indicates that the entity's exports declined by 6% in 2023 due to the war on Gaza, but they increased significantly in four Arab countries, namely Morocco by 128%, Egypt 73%, Bahrain 54% and Jordan 13%).

Also, a decision on the level of Bahrain's participation in a military operation against the Ansar Allah group in Yemen, in support of the Israeli entity, could not have been issued except by the highest echelon of power, with all the betrayal and coercion that this decision entails.

Although this historic opportunity is difficult to arise again, the king, so far, seems to have decided to move forward with making the country's decision making and fate dependent on outside forces. He has accepted absolute dependency for himself, and has decided to walk until the end on this path, which will only increase the hatred among the citizens against him.

Arabic Version