28 may 2019
file picture shows an aerial view of the Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow, Russia
Russia has censured the forthcoming US-led conference in Bahrain in support of President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for “peace” between the Israeli regime and Palestinians, dubbed “the deal of the century,” describing it as a Washington's attempt to substitute the so-called Middle East peace process with imposed economic incentives.
“It is all about another US attempt to shift the priorities of the regional agenda and impose an ' alternative vision' of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement. The persistent desire to replace the task of achieving a comprehensive political solution with a package of the so-called 'economic incentives' while eroding the principle of the (so-called) two-state solution is causing deep concern,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Chinese Ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei said his country, along with Russia, would not participate in the Manama conference scheduled for June 25-26.
“Boycotting the Bahrain conference comes within the framework of a bilateral Russian-Chinese agreement not to participate in it,” Wei was quoted as saying by Palestine's official WAFA news agency at a meeting in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah with Nabil Shaath, a top adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Hamas resistance movement have called for an Arab boycott of the Bahrain confab.
Hamas, in a statement issued on May 20, also called on Arab countries to provide the Palestinian people with every support to confront and frustrate the US “deal of the century.”
“We are following with great concern the American announcement about holding an economic workshop next June in the Bahraini capital of Manama,” Hamas said, describing it as the first American confab in support of the so-called deal of the century.
The movement also denounced any Arab participation in adopting and executing the deal, saying any attendance in the American-led Bahrain conference would be considered a deviation from Arab and Islamic values.
Trump’s “peace plan” has already been dismissed by Palestinian authorities ahead of its unveiling at the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and the formation of the new Israeli cabinet, most likely in June.
Speaking in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on April 16, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh lashed out at the initiative, asserting it was “born dead.”
Shtayyeh noted that negotiations with the US were useless in the wake of the country’s relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, which Palestinians consider the capital city of their future state.
Russia has censured the forthcoming US-led conference in Bahrain in support of President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for “peace” between the Israeli regime and Palestinians, dubbed “the deal of the century,” describing it as a Washington's attempt to substitute the so-called Middle East peace process with imposed economic incentives.
“It is all about another US attempt to shift the priorities of the regional agenda and impose an ' alternative vision' of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement. The persistent desire to replace the task of achieving a comprehensive political solution with a package of the so-called 'economic incentives' while eroding the principle of the (so-called) two-state solution is causing deep concern,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Chinese Ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei said his country, along with Russia, would not participate in the Manama conference scheduled for June 25-26.
“Boycotting the Bahrain conference comes within the framework of a bilateral Russian-Chinese agreement not to participate in it,” Wei was quoted as saying by Palestine's official WAFA news agency at a meeting in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah with Nabil Shaath, a top adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Hamas resistance movement have called for an Arab boycott of the Bahrain confab.
Hamas, in a statement issued on May 20, also called on Arab countries to provide the Palestinian people with every support to confront and frustrate the US “deal of the century.”
“We are following with great concern the American announcement about holding an economic workshop next June in the Bahraini capital of Manama,” Hamas said, describing it as the first American confab in support of the so-called deal of the century.
The movement also denounced any Arab participation in adopting and executing the deal, saying any attendance in the American-led Bahrain conference would be considered a deviation from Arab and Islamic values.
Trump’s “peace plan” has already been dismissed by Palestinian authorities ahead of its unveiling at the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and the formation of the new Israeli cabinet, most likely in June.
Speaking in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on April 16, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh lashed out at the initiative, asserting it was “born dead.”
Shtayyeh noted that negotiations with the US were useless in the wake of the country’s relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, which Palestinians consider the capital city of their future state.
Senior White House adviser leads U.S. delegation to Mideast seeking support for late June economic workshop aimed at helping the Palestinians ahead of Trump's peace plan; delegation arrives in Israel Thursday
Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner is leading a U.S. delegation on stops in the Middle East this week seeking support for a late June workshop aimed at helping the Palestinians, a White House official said on Tuesday.
Kushner, Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Kushner aide Avi Berkowitz began their trip in Rabat and were to travel to Amman and Jerusalem, arriving in Israel on Thursday.
Kushner will attend the Bilderberg conference in Montreux, Switzerland, where he is expected to be a speaker, at the end of the week and then will meet up with U.S. President Donald Trump in London when the president makes a state visit there next week.
The trip is similar to one that Kushner and Greenblatt took in February to Gulf states to drum up support for the economic portion of a Middle East peace plan that they have been developing on behalf of Trump.
The official said one reason for this week's trip is to bolster support for a June 25-26 conference in Manama, Bahrain, in which Kushner is to unveil the first part of Trump's long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
The plan, touted by Trump as the "deal of the century," is to encourage investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Arab donor countries before grappling with thorny political issues at the heart of the conflict.
Palestinian leaders have been sharply critical of the effort. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have said they will participate, and a senior U.S. official said officials from Qatar have said privately their country was expected to attend as well.
The participants in the conference in Manama are expected to include 300 to 400 representatives and business executives from Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and possibly some Palestinian business leaders.
A source familiar with the planning said it appeared Egypt, Jordan and Oman, as well as the G7 countries, would be sending representatives to the conference.
Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner is leading a U.S. delegation on stops in the Middle East this week seeking support for a late June workshop aimed at helping the Palestinians, a White House official said on Tuesday.
Kushner, Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Kushner aide Avi Berkowitz began their trip in Rabat and were to travel to Amman and Jerusalem, arriving in Israel on Thursday.
Kushner will attend the Bilderberg conference in Montreux, Switzerland, where he is expected to be a speaker, at the end of the week and then will meet up with U.S. President Donald Trump in London when the president makes a state visit there next week.
The trip is similar to one that Kushner and Greenblatt took in February to Gulf states to drum up support for the economic portion of a Middle East peace plan that they have been developing on behalf of Trump.
The official said one reason for this week's trip is to bolster support for a June 25-26 conference in Manama, Bahrain, in which Kushner is to unveil the first part of Trump's long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
The plan, touted by Trump as the "deal of the century," is to encourage investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Arab donor countries before grappling with thorny political issues at the heart of the conflict.
Palestinian leaders have been sharply critical of the effort. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have said they will participate, and a senior U.S. official said officials from Qatar have said privately their country was expected to attend as well.
The participants in the conference in Manama are expected to include 300 to 400 representatives and business executives from Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and possibly some Palestinian business leaders.
A source familiar with the planning said it appeared Egypt, Jordan and Oman, as well as the G7 countries, would be sending representatives to the conference.
Bahrain’s top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim
Bahrain’s top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has denounced Washington’s upcoming proposal on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a “deal of humiliation,” saying the actual parties to the deal are the United States and Israel, rather than Palestinians.
In a statement carried by Arabic-language Lua Lua TV network on Monday, Sheikh Qassim stressed the Palestinians' outright rejection of the so-called “deal of the century.”
He also slammed the American deal as “a crime” against Palestinians as well as “an unjust liquidation of the Palestinian cause and a serious conspiracy on earth.”
The US-made plan is “a transaction of humiliation and disgrace” because it attempts to exchange the Palestinian “nation, land, sanctity, religion, unity, and even its presence with...a handful of money,” he added.
The Bahraini cleric further called on the Palestinian people to exercise vigilance and resistance against the plan, which he said would only bring shame to its supporters.
The so-called “deal of the century,” drawn up by the administration of US President Donald Trump, is said to hugely favor Israel. Palestinians have already rejected the initiative as “the slap of the century.”
The US is set to unveil the “economic component” of the deal during a conference in Bahrain on June 25-26, a forum already boycotted by all Palestinian factions.
US plan ‘will go to hell’
Speaking in Ramallah on Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas emphasized that Trump’s proposal would “go to hell.”
“The Palestinian Authority does not recognize this conference,” he said. “Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ will go to hell, as will the economic workshop in Bahrain that the Americans intend to hold and present illusions.”
Abbas also noted that the Palestinian cause is developing step by step to establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.
“Whoever is interested in proposing a solution to the Palestinian issue should begin with a diplomatic solution,” he added.
The so-called Middle East peace process was dealt a major blow in December 2017, when Trump recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and later transferred the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the Israeli-occupied city.
Angered by Trump’s contentious move, Abbas said Palestine would no longer recognize the US as a mediator in the conflict.
Hamas welcomes offer for Lebanese-Palestinian talks
On Sunday, Palestinian resistance movement Hamas — which governs Gaza — welcomed an initiative by Hezbollah for Lebanese-Palestinian dialog on the threat posed by the so-called “deal of the century.”
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned on Saturday that the upcoming Manama conference may pave the way for the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and other countries.
“Nasrallah’s call came at the right time and the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue is the best and most powerful way to handle 'the deal of the century' and confront its repercussions, especially the ongoing attempts to impose the resettlement of Palestinians and cancel the right of return,” Hamas spokesperson Raafat Maraa said.
Bahrain’s top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has denounced Washington’s upcoming proposal on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a “deal of humiliation,” saying the actual parties to the deal are the United States and Israel, rather than Palestinians.
In a statement carried by Arabic-language Lua Lua TV network on Monday, Sheikh Qassim stressed the Palestinians' outright rejection of the so-called “deal of the century.”
He also slammed the American deal as “a crime” against Palestinians as well as “an unjust liquidation of the Palestinian cause and a serious conspiracy on earth.”
The US-made plan is “a transaction of humiliation and disgrace” because it attempts to exchange the Palestinian “nation, land, sanctity, religion, unity, and even its presence with...a handful of money,” he added.
The Bahraini cleric further called on the Palestinian people to exercise vigilance and resistance against the plan, which he said would only bring shame to its supporters.
The so-called “deal of the century,” drawn up by the administration of US President Donald Trump, is said to hugely favor Israel. Palestinians have already rejected the initiative as “the slap of the century.”
The US is set to unveil the “economic component” of the deal during a conference in Bahrain on June 25-26, a forum already boycotted by all Palestinian factions.
US plan ‘will go to hell’
Speaking in Ramallah on Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas emphasized that Trump’s proposal would “go to hell.”
“The Palestinian Authority does not recognize this conference,” he said. “Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ will go to hell, as will the economic workshop in Bahrain that the Americans intend to hold and present illusions.”
Abbas also noted that the Palestinian cause is developing step by step to establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.
“Whoever is interested in proposing a solution to the Palestinian issue should begin with a diplomatic solution,” he added.
The so-called Middle East peace process was dealt a major blow in December 2017, when Trump recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and later transferred the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the Israeli-occupied city.
Angered by Trump’s contentious move, Abbas said Palestine would no longer recognize the US as a mediator in the conflict.
Hamas welcomes offer for Lebanese-Palestinian talks
On Sunday, Palestinian resistance movement Hamas — which governs Gaza — welcomed an initiative by Hezbollah for Lebanese-Palestinian dialog on the threat posed by the so-called “deal of the century.”
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned on Saturday that the upcoming Manama conference may pave the way for the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and other countries.
“Nasrallah’s call came at the right time and the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue is the best and most powerful way to handle 'the deal of the century' and confront its repercussions, especially the ongoing attempts to impose the resettlement of Palestinians and cancel the right of return,” Hamas spokesperson Raafat Maraa said.
27 may 2019
China’s Ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei (L) and Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization
China and Russia will not be participating in a US-led economic conference set to take place in Bahrain next month to promote a controversial so-called plan devised by Washington for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
China’s Ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei informed Nabil Shaath, the foreign policy adviser to the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas, that Beijing and Moscow had made an agreement to boycott the event, the Palestine Chronicle non-profit news and information organization reported on Monday. The meeting reportedly took place in the city of Ramallah in Israel-occupied West Bank.
“Boycotting the Bahrain conference comes within the framework of a bilateral Russian-Chinese agreement not to participate in it,” the Palestinian Wafa news agency quoted Wei as saying.
Wei stressed Beijing’s position “in support of the Palestinian cause and people, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem (al-Quds) as its capital,” the agency added.
Israel claimed existence following a Western-backed war against Arab states in 1948. In 1967, it occupied the West Bank and other chunks of Arab land during fresh warfare.
Washington has kept the plan, which President Donald Trump has hailed as “the deal of century,” under wraps. Leaked information, however, indicate that it features serious violations of the Palestinian’s age-old demands.
Early last week, the US announced plans to hold the conference in the Bahraini capital Manama, where Trump administration officials are expected to unveil economic aspects of the plan.
China and Russia will not be participating in a US-led economic conference set to take place in Bahrain next month to promote a controversial so-called plan devised by Washington for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
China’s Ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei informed Nabil Shaath, the foreign policy adviser to the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas, that Beijing and Moscow had made an agreement to boycott the event, the Palestine Chronicle non-profit news and information organization reported on Monday. The meeting reportedly took place in the city of Ramallah in Israel-occupied West Bank.
“Boycotting the Bahrain conference comes within the framework of a bilateral Russian-Chinese agreement not to participate in it,” the Palestinian Wafa news agency quoted Wei as saying.
Wei stressed Beijing’s position “in support of the Palestinian cause and people, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem (al-Quds) as its capital,” the agency added.
Israel claimed existence following a Western-backed war against Arab states in 1948. In 1967, it occupied the West Bank and other chunks of Arab land during fresh warfare.
Washington has kept the plan, which President Donald Trump has hailed as “the deal of century,” under wraps. Leaked information, however, indicate that it features serious violations of the Palestinian’s age-old demands.
Early last week, the US announced plans to hold the conference in the Bahraini capital Manama, where Trump administration officials are expected to unveil economic aspects of the plan.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Monday welcomed the Czech Republic's decision to backtrack on its previous plan to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem.
The PA Foreign Ministry in an official statement praised the Czech Republic's "commitment to the international law and resolutions and the European Union's position on the legal status of the city of Jerusalem."
On Saturday, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš affirmed that his country does not consider moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Most of the European countries have criticized the US president Donald Trump's move of transferring the US embassy in Israel to Occupied Jerusalem, and decided to wait until the Israeli-Palestinian talks on Jerusalem are settled.
The PA Foreign Ministry in an official statement praised the Czech Republic's "commitment to the international law and resolutions and the European Union's position on the legal status of the city of Jerusalem."
On Saturday, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš affirmed that his country does not consider moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Most of the European countries have criticized the US president Donald Trump's move of transferring the US embassy in Israel to Occupied Jerusalem, and decided to wait until the Israeli-Palestinian talks on Jerusalem are settled.
The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has called on the Arab states intending to participate in the Bahrain economic workshop to boycott it, describing the event as the first step to implement the US deal of the century.
“The Committee is watching with great concern the attempt to integrate Israel into the region economically, politically and at the security level, while its occupation and illegal annexation of Arab and Palestinian lands are ongoing,” a statement published on the PLO website said.
It reiterated its outright rejection of holding the Manama conference, urging all countries, and political and economic bodies not to participate in it.
The PLO accused the US administration of seeking to launch the deal of the century through holding an economic conference after it had implemented political steps in this regard.
"The goal pursued by the US for the workshop is to start implementing the deal of the century and link it to economy after it took steps in implementing the political parts of the deal," its statement said.
The PLO also stressed that it did not delegate any party to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.
The “Peace to Prosperity” economic workshop, to be held on June 25 and 26 in Bahrain, was announced last week by senior White House officials, who said that the Trump administration is planning to release the economic part of its upcoming Middle East peace plan during the event.
“The Committee is watching with great concern the attempt to integrate Israel into the region economically, politically and at the security level, while its occupation and illegal annexation of Arab and Palestinian lands are ongoing,” a statement published on the PLO website said.
It reiterated its outright rejection of holding the Manama conference, urging all countries, and political and economic bodies not to participate in it.
The PLO accused the US administration of seeking to launch the deal of the century through holding an economic conference after it had implemented political steps in this regard.
"The goal pursued by the US for the workshop is to start implementing the deal of the century and link it to economy after it took steps in implementing the political parts of the deal," its statement said.
The PLO also stressed that it did not delegate any party to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.
The “Peace to Prosperity” economic workshop, to be held on June 25 and 26 in Bahrain, was announced last week by senior White House officials, who said that the Trump administration is planning to release the economic part of its upcoming Middle East peace plan during the event.
The imposition of Israeli law on West Bank settlements became the winning card for a forming Israeli government, after the recent Knesset elections between Likud and other right-wing parties, the Palestinian Liberation Organization and National Bureau for Defending Land reported.
The office explained, in a statement on Saturday, that settler leaders in the occupied West Bank are demanding the Israeli law to include all Jewish settlements in these territories, including them in agreements to form the next government.
The report pointed out,according to Al Ray, that pressures are excreted in this direction, and that these tendencies arise following estimates that Donald Trump’s management plan known as the “Deal of the Century” calls for keeping the settlements under Israeli rule, in any permanent peace agreement, and that the US administration will not oppose the expansion of Israeli law to include settlements in the West Bank.
It explained that the illegal settlers believe that the opportunity is now ripe for such a move, after the transfer of US Embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Netanyahu had pledged several times, in the run-up to the elections, last April, to expand the scope of Israeli law to include all settlements, and that he would be able to do so with US support.
The report pointed out that, days before the election, Netanyahu pledged to expand the scope of Israeli sovereignty to include all settlements, both the large settlement blocs or small settlement outposts, ruling out the establishment of a Palestinian state, which he said “poses a threat to the existence of Israel.”
It considered Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights encouraged Netanyahu to annex the settlements. The timing of this move would follow with Trump’s offer of peace plan. If the Palestinian leadership, as expected, rejected the plan and Netanyahu agreed with certain reservations, the latter believed Trump would give him legitimacy to annex and expand Israeli law to include all West Bank settlements or at least some blocs.
In an additional step aimed at imposing Israeli sovereignty on the West Bank without formally announcing it, the Israeli “right-wing coalition” demanded that Netanyahu and the Likud party reduce the powers of the “civil administration” in the West Bank, and prevent them completely from interfering in settler affairs.
Some 200 former Israeli security officials signed a petition, addressed to Netanyahu, demanding a referendum before deciding to impose Israeli law on areas of the West Bank.
The office explained, in a statement on Saturday, that settler leaders in the occupied West Bank are demanding the Israeli law to include all Jewish settlements in these territories, including them in agreements to form the next government.
The report pointed out,according to Al Ray, that pressures are excreted in this direction, and that these tendencies arise following estimates that Donald Trump’s management plan known as the “Deal of the Century” calls for keeping the settlements under Israeli rule, in any permanent peace agreement, and that the US administration will not oppose the expansion of Israeli law to include settlements in the West Bank.
It explained that the illegal settlers believe that the opportunity is now ripe for such a move, after the transfer of US Embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Netanyahu had pledged several times, in the run-up to the elections, last April, to expand the scope of Israeli law to include all settlements, and that he would be able to do so with US support.
The report pointed out that, days before the election, Netanyahu pledged to expand the scope of Israeli sovereignty to include all settlements, both the large settlement blocs or small settlement outposts, ruling out the establishment of a Palestinian state, which he said “poses a threat to the existence of Israel.”
It considered Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights encouraged Netanyahu to annex the settlements. The timing of this move would follow with Trump’s offer of peace plan. If the Palestinian leadership, as expected, rejected the plan and Netanyahu agreed with certain reservations, the latter believed Trump would give him legitimacy to annex and expand Israeli law to include all West Bank settlements or at least some blocs.
In an additional step aimed at imposing Israeli sovereignty on the West Bank without formally announcing it, the Israeli “right-wing coalition” demanded that Netanyahu and the Likud party reduce the powers of the “civil administration” in the West Bank, and prevent them completely from interfering in settler affairs.
Some 200 former Israeli security officials signed a petition, addressed to Netanyahu, demanding a referendum before deciding to impose Israeli law on areas of the West Bank.
25 may 2019
In early May Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and the lead architect of the so-called “deal of the century” gave a lengthy interview to Robert Satloff, the executive director of the pro-Israeli Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP).
In it he expressed disappointment with the Palestinians. “It’s been very disheartening for us,” Kushner told Satloff, “to see that the Palestinian leadership has basically been attacking a plan that they don’t know what it is as opposed to reaching out to us.”
“Poor Jared,” one is tempted to say, “all that hard effort and so little gratitude!” So what that his father-in-law recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, shuttered the PLO mission in Washington, cut off all US funding to the Palestinians, waved through the Israeli annexation of the Golan and kept Jordanian King Abdullah – whose country is home to two million Palestinian refugees – completely in the dark.
So what that Kushner, a New York real estate broker whose family supports illegal settlements has two advisers, Jason Greenblatt and David Friedman, who themselves are keen settlement advocates. The former has said that the settlements are not illegal. The latter is the US ambassador to Israel and in that capacity has deemed the settlements already part of Israel. This is the trio that we are asked to believe will come up with a fair and balanced plan. And the Palestinians? They haven’t reached out, shame on the Palestinians.
The interview Kushner gave is full of empty platitudes and slippery evasions. He boasts “nothing’s leaked from my team…and I think that is something that we’re very proud of.” Perhaps nothing has leaked because there is nothing of substance to leak. The deal such as it is seems to promise a bright economic future for the Palestinians if they just get on board and trust in Jared.
The latest gambit in trying to maneuver the Palestinians into a corner is a conference in the Bahraini capital Manama that is set for 25-26 June. According to a White House statement released 19 May, the conference will provide a “framework for a prosperous future for the Palestinian people and the region, including enhancements to economic governance, development of human capital, and facilitation of rapid private-sector growth.”
The statement adds: “This is a pivotal opportunity to convene government, civil society, and business leaders to share ideas, discuss strategies, and galvanize support for potential economic investments and initiatives that could be made possible by a peace agreement.”
Cart before horse comes immediately to mind. There can be no economic deal without first a political deal; that is a broad and widely shared consensus. But Kushner, a young man with no previous experience in the Middle East, disagrees. “Look,” he told Satloff, “we don’t want to go through history on this.”
One of his most disingenuous comments in the interview was when he was asked about a two-state solution “[it] means one thing to Israelis, [and another] thing to the Palestinians, so we said, let’s just not say it”. Think about that for a moment, a central tenet of achieving a fair and equitable deal is not going to be mentioned.
In fact just about the only thing that emerges between the lines in 45 minutes of weaving, bobbing and preening was that Kushner and his sidekicks Friedman and Greenblatt want to secure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long held goal of burying the two-state solution forever while facilitating the annexation of the illegal West Bank settlements into Israel.
The Palestinian Authority has said, quite rightly, it will not be going to Manama. Nor will Palestinian business people. Israel’s new friends the Saudis and the Emiratis will be there to make promises that they will stump up the cash that is intended to cause the Palestinians to cave in. In that regard Dan Shapiro, a former American ambassador to Israel, warns: “What makes it very difficult to see the conference being successful is that the US has cancelled all donor assistance to the Palestinians, so it’s asking others to invest where it has chosen to divest.”
We have been here before with the Trump presidency. A grand gathering is called, replete with overblown rhetoric and assumptions that intractable problems that have existed for decades will be resolved in a couple of days. Remember the Warsaw conference in February? That was intended to pull together the nations of the world in a great coalition that would stand up to Iran. The Americans blustered and fulminated, Netanyahu blundered badly by tweeting about preparing for war and anybody with any sense stayed away. The conference was an enormous flop and, unsurprisingly, Trump never mentions it even as he continues to ratchet up the pressure on Iran.
Already the Manama gathering has the unmistakable stench of failure hovering over it. When it ends, the strategy such as it is will be to claim that the Palestinians, ungrateful wretches, rejected a generous offer. Kushner tried, the Palestinians failed. It is so nakedly transparent that even some of Israel’s most trenchant supporters are wincing.
Robert Satloff in a follow up article to his interview aptly titled “Jared Kushner’s peace plan would be a disaster”, begs Kushner and Netanyahu not to proceed: “I hope Bibi…uses whatever tools at his disposal to abort the Kushner plan” and he concludes the article with this: “For Israel and its friends the key point remains: the only way to protect the long-term viability of the best aspects of the plan is to kill the plan.”
Sadly Jared Kushner does not appear to be listening. He told Satloff: “When you work for your father-in-law you can’t disappoint.” And so it is onwards to Manama, expert analysts, Middle East old hands and diplomats, even good friends and staunch allies be damned. Jared has got the deal of the century sorted.
- Bill Law is a Sony award-winning journalist. He joined the BBC in 1995 and since 2002 has reported extensively from the Middle East. His article appeared in MEMO.
In it he expressed disappointment with the Palestinians. “It’s been very disheartening for us,” Kushner told Satloff, “to see that the Palestinian leadership has basically been attacking a plan that they don’t know what it is as opposed to reaching out to us.”
“Poor Jared,” one is tempted to say, “all that hard effort and so little gratitude!” So what that his father-in-law recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, shuttered the PLO mission in Washington, cut off all US funding to the Palestinians, waved through the Israeli annexation of the Golan and kept Jordanian King Abdullah – whose country is home to two million Palestinian refugees – completely in the dark.
So what that Kushner, a New York real estate broker whose family supports illegal settlements has two advisers, Jason Greenblatt and David Friedman, who themselves are keen settlement advocates. The former has said that the settlements are not illegal. The latter is the US ambassador to Israel and in that capacity has deemed the settlements already part of Israel. This is the trio that we are asked to believe will come up with a fair and balanced plan. And the Palestinians? They haven’t reached out, shame on the Palestinians.
The interview Kushner gave is full of empty platitudes and slippery evasions. He boasts “nothing’s leaked from my team…and I think that is something that we’re very proud of.” Perhaps nothing has leaked because there is nothing of substance to leak. The deal such as it is seems to promise a bright economic future for the Palestinians if they just get on board and trust in Jared.
The latest gambit in trying to maneuver the Palestinians into a corner is a conference in the Bahraini capital Manama that is set for 25-26 June. According to a White House statement released 19 May, the conference will provide a “framework for a prosperous future for the Palestinian people and the region, including enhancements to economic governance, development of human capital, and facilitation of rapid private-sector growth.”
The statement adds: “This is a pivotal opportunity to convene government, civil society, and business leaders to share ideas, discuss strategies, and galvanize support for potential economic investments and initiatives that could be made possible by a peace agreement.”
Cart before horse comes immediately to mind. There can be no economic deal without first a political deal; that is a broad and widely shared consensus. But Kushner, a young man with no previous experience in the Middle East, disagrees. “Look,” he told Satloff, “we don’t want to go through history on this.”
One of his most disingenuous comments in the interview was when he was asked about a two-state solution “[it] means one thing to Israelis, [and another] thing to the Palestinians, so we said, let’s just not say it”. Think about that for a moment, a central tenet of achieving a fair and equitable deal is not going to be mentioned.
In fact just about the only thing that emerges between the lines in 45 minutes of weaving, bobbing and preening was that Kushner and his sidekicks Friedman and Greenblatt want to secure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long held goal of burying the two-state solution forever while facilitating the annexation of the illegal West Bank settlements into Israel.
The Palestinian Authority has said, quite rightly, it will not be going to Manama. Nor will Palestinian business people. Israel’s new friends the Saudis and the Emiratis will be there to make promises that they will stump up the cash that is intended to cause the Palestinians to cave in. In that regard Dan Shapiro, a former American ambassador to Israel, warns: “What makes it very difficult to see the conference being successful is that the US has cancelled all donor assistance to the Palestinians, so it’s asking others to invest where it has chosen to divest.”
We have been here before with the Trump presidency. A grand gathering is called, replete with overblown rhetoric and assumptions that intractable problems that have existed for decades will be resolved in a couple of days. Remember the Warsaw conference in February? That was intended to pull together the nations of the world in a great coalition that would stand up to Iran. The Americans blustered and fulminated, Netanyahu blundered badly by tweeting about preparing for war and anybody with any sense stayed away. The conference was an enormous flop and, unsurprisingly, Trump never mentions it even as he continues to ratchet up the pressure on Iran.
Already the Manama gathering has the unmistakable stench of failure hovering over it. When it ends, the strategy such as it is will be to claim that the Palestinians, ungrateful wretches, rejected a generous offer. Kushner tried, the Palestinians failed. It is so nakedly transparent that even some of Israel’s most trenchant supporters are wincing.
Robert Satloff in a follow up article to his interview aptly titled “Jared Kushner’s peace plan would be a disaster”, begs Kushner and Netanyahu not to proceed: “I hope Bibi…uses whatever tools at his disposal to abort the Kushner plan” and he concludes the article with this: “For Israel and its friends the key point remains: the only way to protect the long-term viability of the best aspects of the plan is to kill the plan.”
Sadly Jared Kushner does not appear to be listening. He told Satloff: “When you work for your father-in-law you can’t disappoint.” And so it is onwards to Manama, expert analysts, Middle East old hands and diplomats, even good friends and staunch allies be damned. Jared has got the deal of the century sorted.
- Bill Law is a Sony award-winning journalist. He joined the BBC in 1995 and since 2002 has reported extensively from the Middle East. His article appeared in MEMO.