Trump announces deal between Bahrain and Israel to normalize relations in drive for Middle east peace

Donald Trump has announced that Israel and the Gulf state of Bahrain have reached a landmark deal to fully normalize their relations, weeks after announcing a peace deal between Israel and the UAE.

For decades, most Arab states have boycotted Israel, insisting they would only establish ties after the Palestinian land dispute and city of Jerusalem issue was resolved.

But surprisingly, last month the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to normalize its relationship with Israel after Trump intervened and now Bahrain has followed suit.

The second Arab country to make peace with Israel in 30 days, Trump tweeted on Friday night.

Trump with help from his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner presented his Middle East peace plan in January aimed at resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday he was "excited" that "another peace agreement" had been reached with another Arab country.

This is a new era of peace. Peace for peace. Economy for the economy. We have invested in peace for many years and now peace will invest in us, he said.

Bahrain is only the fourth Arab country in the Middle East to recognize Israel since its founding in 1948. The others are Egypt and Jordan.