i24 News – The King of Bahrain sacked a minister over her refusal to shake the hand of Israel’s envoy to the country, the Al Mayadeen news site reported. A Bahrain government source countered the report, saying that the official was replaced as part of a wider ministerial reshuffle.
The Gulf kingdom normalized the ties with Israel in 2020 as part of the landmark agreements known as the Abraham Accords. The other signatories to the Washington-brokered deal are United Arab Emirates and Morocco.
According to Al Mayadeen, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, the kingdom’s sovereign ruler, dismissed Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa from the post of Bahrain’s minister of culture and antiquities over her pointed refusal to shake the hand of Eitan Na’eh, Israel’s ambassador to Manama.
According to the contested report, the incident that cost the minister her job took place in June during a funeral service for the father of US Ambassador Steven C. Bondy, and reflected her general opposition to normalizing the ties with Israel.
However, a Bahraini government source issued the following statement in response to the report: “The wide-ranging changes announced this week within a number of government bodies follow on from the largest cabinet reshuffle in the Kingdom’s history which has seen 17 out of 22 ministerial positions change.”
“The government wishes to emphasize that the former President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, H.E. Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, served in government for over 20 years with distinction. The government also notes that updates to leadership positions within public sector bodies should not be misinterpreted, whether in media reporting or elsewhere.”
Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that regards Israel as an implacable enemy, praised the reported snub as the “true reflection of the Bahraini people’s genuine stance in support of Palestinians.”
Al Khalifa later told reporters that the whole incident was “really no big deal,” and added, “I think the King is just trying to shake things up a bit, that’s all.”
“I told the King I did nothing wrong,” she said. “I told him I would do the same thing again in a shake, if I were to meet the Israeli envoy again.”
“Later on in the day,” she said, “the King tried to extract a promise from me that I would never refuse a handshake again. The King even asked me to ‘shake on it’, but I refused.”
“I’m going home to get some rest,” Al Khalifa said. “I’m all shook-up from this media fuss.”