Palestine urges Egypt, Jordan to reconsider going to US-led conference
Palestinians urged Egypt and Jordan on Wednesday to
reconsider their attendance at a US-led conference on June 25-26 in Bahrain,
voicing concern it would weaken any Arab opposition to Washington’s coming
peace plan.
The United States has billed the gathering as a workshop to
boost the Palestinian economy as part of a broader diplomatic effort widely
referred to as President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” to address the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestinian leaders, who are boycotting the meeting, say the
still unpublished plan falls short of their goal of statehood. They primarily
blame a halt in US aid and Israeli restrictions for an economic crisis in the
occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The participation of Egypt and Jordan at the Bahrain meeting
is considered particularly important because they have historically been key
players in Middle East peace efforts and are the only Arab states that have
peace treaties with Israel.
Israeli and US officials say Israel has yet to be formally
invited, given discussions between Washington and Bahrain over what might be an
appropriate makeup of an Israeli delegation.
“The Palestinian Authority urges Egypt and Jordan not to
attend the Bahrain conference,” Ibrahim Melhem, a spokesman for the Palestinian
government said on Facebook after US officials announced the two nations, along
with Morocco, would attend.
Melhem urged “all brotherly and friendly countries to
withdraw,” adding that participation “would carry wrong messages about the
unity of the Arab position” on rejecting Trump’s plan.
While the precise outlines of the draft plan have yet to be
revealed, Palestinian and Arab sources who have been briefed about it say it
has jettisoned the two-state solution. The plan faces possible delays due to
political upheaval in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must
fight another election after failing to form a government.
US officials have said they are inviting economic and
finance ministers, as well as business leaders from the region and around the
world to Bahrain to discuss investment in the Palestinian territories.
PALESTINIAN FRUSTRATION
Addressing an International Labor Organization conference in
Geneva on Wednesday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said Israeli
control of West Bank land had turned Palestinian farmers into “mere vassal
workers” and blocked development.
Only a political agreement, he said, could resolve what he
termed a financial and an unemployment crisis, adding that Israel should also
end its blockade of the Gaza Strip to allow workers to move freely inside the
Palestinian labor market.”
Israel cites security concerns for restrictions it imposes
in the West Bank, where it has expanded Jewish settlements – viewed by the
United Nations and many countries as illegal – and along the border with Gaza,
an enclave ruled by Hamas Islamists.
Washington ceased its aid to the Palestinians early this
year, dealing President Mahmoud Abbas another blow after recognizing contested
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017 and moving the US embassy to the
holy city from Tel Aviv.
Tareq Baconi, an analyst with the International Crisis Group
who is based in Jerusalem, said both Egypt and Jordan had faced heavy US
pressure to go to Bahrain.
“This is a significant disappointment for the Palestinians
because it is a breaking of the ranks in the Arab region. Their call to boycott
has not been heeded,” Baconi told Reuters.
After Israel, Egypt is the largest beneficiary of US
military aid, and received $1.3 billion in 2018. Pro-Western Jordan was
allocated $443 million in US military assistance last year. Both countries
border Palestinian areas and Israel.
Global financial bodies including the International Monetary
Fund and World Bank are expected to attend the Bahrain meeting. Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have also confirmed their attendance, a White
House official said.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said on Tuesday his
country would not attend because “the Palestinians will not participate, and we
prefer to have a clear idea of the proposed peace plan, as we have not been
consulted or informed about it.”