A delegation from Israel that was due to attend a conference in Bahrain this week has pulled out due to security concerns, organizers said on Sunday, after Bahrainis held an extensive campaign against the visit.
A spokeswoman for Economy Minister Eli Cohen said his planned visit to Bahrain this week had been "delayed because of political issues." Another cabinet minister said this referred to coalition talks after Israel's election last week.
Israel and the Gulf Arab countries are in the midst of a diplomatic push aimed at forging an alliance against their common enemy Iran. Their efforts have become increasingly public after years of mostly covert contact.
The group of around 30 Israeli business executives and government officials was scheduled to participate in a congress organized by the U.S.- based Global Entrepreneurship Network in Bahrain on April 15-18.
This prompted an outcry in Bahrain, with parliament joining calls on social media for the visit to be canceled and some minor street protests held in Manama.
"While we advised the Israeli delegation they would be welcome, they decided this morning not to come due to security concerns and a wish not to cause disruption for the other 180 nations participating," Jonathan Ortmans, GEN president, said in a statement.
A source close to the matter told Reuters that three Israeli speakers had canceled because they were unable to obtain visas while the rest of the delegation had "decided not to go."
The Bahraini government said the delegation had been invited at the sole initiative of the Global Entrepreneurship Network.
"Our responsibility is to ensure a safe and supportive environment for the attending delegations," Bahrain's government said in a statement.
However, acting Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who also holds the intelligence portfolio, denied that the cancellation of Cohen's trip was due to security concerns.
"The head of the delegation is busy with political matters right now," Katz told Reshet 13 TV, referring to talks on a new coalition government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who won reelection in the April 9 ballot.
"Cohen had to choose between traveling to Bahrain - a very important trip - and exploiting the election gains."
Last week a group of Bahraini lawyers tried unsuccessfully to get a court to stop immigration authorities from issuing visas to the delegation, while parliament condemned the visit.
"Bahrain's parliament announces that the people of Bahrain rejects any Israeli presence on its territory and its lands and any decision allowing this presence is unacceptable," lawmakers said in a statement.
Israel has formal diplomatic relations with only two Arab states, neighboring Egypt and Jordan.
But Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev visited Abu Dhabi's Grand Mosque last year and fellow Gulf state Oman hosted Netanyahu on a surprise trip, the first by an Israeli leader in 22 years.
