Officials to gather for so-called ‘Peace to Prosperity’ workshop, the economic part of Trump’s ‘deal of the century’.
Bahrain is set to host the so-called “Peace to Prosperity” workshop to discuss what the US described as the economic part of President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century”, his proposal for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The meeting on June 25 and 26 in Manama has been widely criticised over the lack of representation of the Palestinian leadership, which is boycotting the gathering.
According to the White House, the meeting “will facilitate discussions on an ambitious, achievable vision and framework for a prosperous future for the Palestinian people and the region”.
Here are the latest updates:
Monday, June 24:
Palestine PM: Economic plan is ‘nonsense’
Mohammad Shtayyeh, the Palestinian prime minister, called the US economic plan “nonsense”.
“We have realised that this economic workshop in Bahrain is going to be really of nonsense, it is just simply a theoretical piece of work calling for $50bn,” Shtayyeh said.
“We don’t know where this money is going to come from but we know that the economic problem in Palestine has to do with all the Israeli measures.
“I have not seen in the document any reference to the occupation, I have not seen in the document any reference to settlements, we have not seen in the document any reference to ending occupation. This workshop is simply a political laundry for settlements and a legitimatisation of occupation,” the prime minister said at a cabinet meeting in Ramallah.
Analysts react to Kushner plan
Analysts have criticised the economic part of the US’s peace plan for failing to address the main problem that has heavily curbed the Palestinian economy – the 52-year-old Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The economic plan was released by the White House on Saturday and is set to be presented during the US-led workshop in Bahrain on June 25-26.
When the document was released, many noticed that the 40-page plan was void of any political context and of any mention of the words “occupation”, “freedom”, “equality” and “blockade”.
US reveals $50bn investment proposal for Palestine and neighboring Arab states
The US has revealed a proposal to create a $50bn global investment fund for the Palestinians and neighbouring Arab states, designed to be the economic engine of the long-awaited US Middle East peace plan.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday rejected it and the US peace effort, which is led by President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner.
The 10-year plan calls for projects worth $6.3bn for Palestinians in Lebanon, as well as $27.5bn in the West Bank and Gaza, $9.1bn in Egypt and $7.4bn in Jordan.
