Wikileaks: King: We have always had contacts with Mossad ...We will never refer to Israel as the 'enemy or the Zionist entity'!

S E C R E T   MANAMA

SUBJECT: KING DISCUSSES REGIONAL ISSUES WITH AMBASSADOR

1. (S) Bahrain's King Hamad, despite some continuing worries about Saudi Arabia, expressed optimism about Bahrain and the region in a wide-ranging discussion with the Ambassador February 15. ........ 4. (C) The King spoke at some length on Israeli-Palestinian developments, expressing satisfaction at the positive turn of events. This is a good moment, he said, that can be important for stability in the region. He said that he had instructed newly-appointed Minister of Information Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Ghaffar to make sure that official announcements or statements coming out of the Ministry of Information do not refer to Israel as the "enemy" or "Zionist entity." He revealed that Bahrain already has contacts with Israel at the intelligence/security level (i.e., with Mossad), and indicated that Bahrain will be willing to move forward in other areas, .....  He added that he planned to travel to Jordan on February 19 to meet with King Abdullah and show his support for moving forward....  7. (S) King Hamad left no doubt that he put the blame for the Hariri assassination squarely on Syria. He said that he had had dinner with Hariri just 10 days earlier when Hariri was in Bahrain for the opening of the 10th Islamic Trade Fair. Hariri had told him that he planned to move to openly oppose the Syrians in Lebanon in May (after the parliamentary elections), but did not want to tip his hand before the elections. The discounted any other theories about who might have been behind the attack..."