MANAMA: The Trump administration launched a $50 billion economic formula for Israeli-Palestinian peace on Tuesday. The USA said that an investment program for the Palestinians was a precondition for ending the decades-old conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner opened a two-day international meeting in Bahrain to rally support for the blueprint, which has already invited sharp criticism from Palestinians and others in the Arab world although regional U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia firmly stood behind the deal.
“We can turn this region from a victim of past conflicts into a model for commerce and advancement throughout the world,” Kushner told the gathering, attended by the heads of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was full of disdain about the prospects of the deal:
“Money is important. The economy is important … The political solution is more important.” On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close Trump ally, said Israel was open to the US proposal. (Agencies)
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