Bahraini crown prince tells Bennett he imagines ‘conflict-free Middle East’

MANAMA, Bahrain — Prime Minister Naftali Bennett concludes his meeting with Bahrain’s prime minister, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa.

Al-Khalifa tells Bennett that “all responsible peoples need to make an effort to achieve peace. Not that there has ever been a war between us, but relations between our countries have not been sound,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

“I think that if we envision a broader, conflict-free Middle East based on the principles of mutual respect, understanding and shared responsibility toward security, we will need to do more to get to know each other better and establish the Abraham Accords that are such an important historical achievement,” the crown prince says, in a statement from the prime minister.

Bennett tells al-Khalifa that “we feel the special welcome from your people and from you personally. I see a very big opportunity here… I come from Israel with a spirit of goodwill, cooperation, of standing together in the face of common challenges and I think our goal in this visit is to turn this peace from peace between governments to peace between people — and change it from something ceremonial to something meaningful.”