A senior Israeli delegation flew to Bahrain on Wednesday morning to hold talks on drafting a comprehensive peace treaty between the two countries, Walla News reported.

The Israir direct flight took off at 8 a.m. following two days of preparations, flying over Saudi airspace. The delegation will return to Israel Wednesday evening.

The visit was finalized only on Tuesday following a phone call between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Bahraini Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Bin Issa Al-Khalifa.

Acting Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office Ronen Peretz and Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz are heading the delegation, which also includes senior National Security Council officials and other ministry officials.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke today with Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. 🇮🇱🇧🇭https://t.co/IKi0XeWEZV pic.twitter.com/zEn81f0KiC

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 22, 2020

Israel and Bahrain signed a “declaration of peace” last week in Washington, a largely symbolic document which indicated a commitment by both countries to establish diplomatic ties.

According to the Walla report, Israeli officials said that Bahrain and Israel now need “to draft a detailed and comprehensive peace treaty that will have a firm legal status and include side agreements on several fields of bilateral cooperation.”

The report added that Israel wants to use the peace treaty with the United Arab Emirates as a template for the treaty with Bahrain.

Below is a picture of the Israir crew who manned the first direct flight to Bahrain.

פעם ראשונה בבחריין 🇧🇭, @ISRAIR_Group בטיסה ישירה מעל ירדן וסעודיה הם חב' התעופה הישראלית הראשונה לנחות בבירה #Manama. הטייסים שזכו לטוס בארוע הבכורה הם חגי, ג'ואל ועמית (בתמונה עם צוות הדיילים). ברכות לישראיר על הביצוע. pic.twitter.com/kuijnXvtzc

— איגוד הטייסים הישראלי (@igudhatayasim) September 23, 2020

Bahrain is currently considered a “red country” with a high coronavirus infection rate. The delegation members will be required to quarantine upon return to Israel but the Health Ministry made an exception to the usual 14-day quarantine requirement, reducing it to five days as it did for the members of the delegation that flew to the US for the Abraham Accords.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)