Bahrain has been walking a political tightrope since conflict erupted in Gaza as it seeks to ease public fury at a crisis that has killed thousands of Palestinians while preserving a deal with Israel that brought the Gulf state closer to the United States, Reuters reports.

The deal to normalise ties with Israel, signed in 2020 by Bahrain when Donald Trump was president, brought few business benefits to Bahrain, unlike those it offered United Arab Emirates, a regional commercial hub which signed at the same time. But the other strategic gains Bahrain secured are too valuable to jeopardise, sources and analysts said.

Six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters Bahrain would not abandon its ties with Israel, even though parliament — a body that remains subservient to the monarchy has made a strident statement suggesting Israel relations were in the freezer.

Read the full report here.