Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Bahrain king turned down Netanyahu request to meet ahead of September elections — report
Bahrain’s king Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa refused to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next month, saying it was “not yet the time” for such a public display of rapprochement, according to a report in the Arabic-language news site Elaph.
The report says that Khalifa turned downed Netanyahu’s request for an August meeting to discuss regional “security issues” because he believed the Israeli leader wanted to use it in his re-election campaign.
Netanyahu, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term in office in the September 17 election, often touts his foreign policy bona fides and friendships with foreign leaders in his election campaigns.
