Israel, Bahrain agree to cooperate on agriculture, food security

Israel and Bahrain have signed an agriculture cooperation deal, Israeli officials said on Thursday, bringing closer the countries that forged ties under a controversial U.S.-diplomatic push in 2020.

The signing took place at an international conference in the Red Sea port of Eilat whose focus included "innovation in aquaculture, as part of global efforts to address food security," Israel's Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.

Also present were delegates from United Arab Emirates and Morocco, which also normalised relations with Israel under the so-called "Abraham Accords" two years ago.

The Israeli ministry said that, persuant to a government decision, Eilat would "become a centre for research and development of food from the sea and the desert".

Israel and Bahrain have already inked a number of deals – including one related defence - since officially establishing ties.

The deals were slammed by Palestinians and pro-Palestine activists around the world, who said that they rewarded Israel as it continued to occupy the West Bank and besiege the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed since the start of the year by Israeli security forces.

Public opinion polls in the Arab world have also shown overwhelming opposition to the normalisation of ties with Israel.