Dr. Hatem Abu Zaida

A qualitative defense agreement between the occupation and the Kingdom of Bahrain

This is another normalization step benefitting the Israeli occupation, and another point helping to accumulate more achievements in favor of integrating the occupation into the military, security and economic systems in the Arab region. Those steps come within the context of the “Ibrahim” normalization that was launched last year at the initiative of a number of Gulf Arab countries and under American supervision.

At the beginning of this month, the naval maneuvers 2022 - IMX were launched under the organization and supervision of the Central Command of the US Army. It will last for 17 days with the participation of 60 countries, including Arab and Islamic countries that do not establish diplomatic relations with the occupation; for instance, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Djibouti and the like.

Those maneuvers are considered as the first of their kind, in terms of the number of participating countries; 60 countries, and in terms of the vast maritime and Gulf areas they cover. They include the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the northern Indian Ocean.

The declared goal of those pre-scheduled maneuvers is to send a message to Iran, and to emphasize the security of the strategic sea lanes in the region, through which about half of the world's oil production passes. The other goal that the U.S administration and the occupation have always pursued is the integration of the Israeli occupation into the military and security systems in the Arab region, as a prelude to make partnerships and military alliances, where the occupation can be a central element in.

The former US administration paved the way for the inclusion of the Israeli occupation in the military and security systems of the region by transferring it in 2020 from the area of influence of the U.S Army Command on the European continent to the Central Military Region in the Arabian Gulf. This came within the wave of the "Abrahamic" normalization after the Arab state had refused or was embarrassed from the participation of the occupation in regional maneuvers alongside Arab countries, which prompted the US Department of Defense in the past to keep it within the influence of the American Army in Europe.

At the same time as the Israeli occupation is participating in maneuvers 2022 - IMX Navy, the Defense Minister Benny Gantz, representing the Israeli occupation, signed a defense agreement with the leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain. This agreement, which is the second defense agreement after the previous one with the Kingdom of Morocco, includes the purchase of equipment, intelligence cooperation and information exchange.

The importance of this agreement lies in the security infiltration of the Israeli occupation in the region and its transformation into a normal state after it was a pariah spot. From a strategic point, the agreement lies in the responsibility of a Zionist security and naval presence close to Iran in the Gulf waters, and in the bases of the US Army affiliated to the Fifth Fleet Command in Bahrain.

Despite the importance of the occupation's participation in maneuvers 2022-IMX, alongside with a large number of Arab and Islamic countries that do not establish any kind of relations with the Israeli occupation and the defense agreement with the Kingdom of Bahrain, it cannot be considered as a strategic shift in the occupation's strengths, because there are other strategic dangers that are still growing and threatening its existence in the short term.