JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was nominated Tuesday for the Nobel Peace Prize, after he was instrumental in engineering the recent peace treaties between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan.
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The nomination was submitted by Lord David Trimble, a former North Irish lawmaker who spearheaded the negotiations which eventually led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement effectively ending the protracted conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland.
For his efforts, Trimble himself was awarded the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize.
Because Netanyahu has been nominated by a former prize laureate, the prize committee is required to convene to consider the nomination.
At the same time, Trimble also nominated Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Netanyahu announced plans Tuesday to visit Bahrain, which recently normalized relations with Israel. In a statement Tuesday, Netanyahu said that he spoke with Bahrain Deputy King and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa over the phone Monday night.
During the conversation, the second between Netanyahu and the Crown Prince, the two leaders discussed ways of strengthening ties between their countries.
“I spoke now with the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa,” Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday morning. “It was our second conversation, and it was very cordial.”
“We are both very excited by the fact that we are able to bring the fruits of peace to our two peoples and our countries in the very near future.”
“Therefore, he invited me to come for an official state visit in Bahrain in the near future, which I will do.”