Opposition groups in the Bahraini parliament have protested a proposal by Foreign Minister, Sheikh Khaled ibn Ahmed, to create a regional group including Arab states, Israel, Iran and Turkey to promote peace in the area, according to al-Jazeera. A Muslim Brotherhood member of parliament served an American plan to bring Israel into the region. A member of the Shiite Agreement faction said the foreign minister's call was not appropriate to Bahrain's position on the Palestinian issue.
A senior foreign ministry official claimed that the proposal does not mean renunciation of Arab rights, specificly dealing with the Palestinian issue, and noted than many Arab countries have dialogue with Israel. He added that the Gulf Cooperation Council approved dialogue in principle, the most recent case involving dialogue between Syria and Israel. The official said Bahrain still supports Palestinian claims, but stressed that conditions in the region are forcing Arab nations to display initiative in their policy and suggest "realistic solutions".