PA calls on them and other ‘brotherly’ countries to withdraw from US-led economic workshop in Manama; top PLO official calls Trump administration ‘ruling Zionist lobby in US’
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The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday said it “deeply regrets” the decision by Egypt and Jordan to participate in the upcoming American-sponsored economic workshop in Bahrain and called on them and other “brotherly” nations to withdraw.
Egypt, Jordan and Morocco have informed US President Donald Trump’s administration that they will attend the conference, a senior US official told The Times of Israel on Tuesday, ending weeks of uncertainty and paving the way for Israel to be invited as well.
The Palestinian government “deeply regrets the declaration of Cairo and Amman about its participating in the workshop and call on them and all brotherly and friendly countries to withdraw from participating in the workshop,” said spokesman Ibrahim Melhim.
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“Under the cover of this participation, the US is trying to create solutions outside the realm of international legitimacy that detracts from the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people,” he said.
However, earlier a top PLO official took a more understanding approach to the decisions from Egypt and Jordan, but dismissed the meet as one organized by the “ruling Zionist lobby group in America” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior Fatah and Palestine Liberation Organization official, told Turkey’s Andolu news agency that he believed the Arab countries’ participation would be merely symbolic.
“The decision is not surprising. They have special ties with the United States and we cannot judge the circumstances that caused them to participate, but we are certain [their] participation will be symbolic and not at a high level,” Ahmad said.
“We would have preferred that they did not participate at all and that Bahrain did not host such a meeting, which the ruling Zionist lobby in America that is allied with the extremist right led by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, is organizing,” he added, also expressing hope that other Arab countries would refuse to participate in the workshop.
“How can the workshop take place in a brotherly Arab country in the absence of the main stakeholder of the [Palestinian] issue…? The mere holding of [the conference] is in contravention with the Arab Peace Initiative that affirmed the two-state solution, ending the occupation, establishing an independent Palestinian state and the return of refugees in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194,” he said.
“Whatever the results of the workshop, there is no legal value to them as long as the stakeholders oppose them,” he concluded.
The US administration and Bahrain announced in mid-May that they would host an economic workshop in the Bahraini capital of Manama on June 25 and 26 that “will facilitate discussions on an ambitious, achievable vision and framework for a prosperous future for the Palestinian people and the region.”
American officials have said that the meeting will deal with the economic portion of its apparently forthcoming plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a plan whose unveiling has been again delayed by political instability inside Israel.
The US has been attempting to rally support for the conference, which has come under criticism for seemingly placing economic issues ahead of reaching a political solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The Palestinians have firmly rejected the conference; Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said the Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership will not attend the conference nor accept its results. Lebanon said Tuesday it also would not attend the conference, although it is not known if the country was in fact invited.
“Whoever wants to resolve the Palestinian issue should start with the political issue, then the political issue, then the political issue and then he can talk about the illusions of billions that they say they will present [to us],” Abbas said in late May.
The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia announced in May that they would participate in the conference in Manama.
Israel has reportedly not yet received an invite. According to an Israeli report this week, US officials wanted to clinch enough Arab participation, particularly that of Egypt and Jordan, before bringing Israel in. If invited, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon would likely represent Jerusalem.
Senior White House aide Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a key architect of the peace gambit, was quoted telling Palestinian news outlet al-Quds earlier Tuesday that Egypt, Jordan and Morocco would attend the conference.
Jordanian King Abdullah said earlier on Tuesday that Jordan should attend the economic workshop in Manama, Ammon News, an Amman-based news site, reported.
“His majesty referred to the necessity of Jordan being present at international conferences about the Palestinian issue, whether that is the Bahrain conference or elsewhere, so that we can listen and remain knowledgeable of what is taking place,” the Ammon News report said, without attributing the comments to a named or unnamed source.
Abdullah made the comment in a meeting with former ministers and media and political personalities, according to Ammon News.
There was no immediate comment from Cairo or Rabat.
Adam Rasgon contributed to this article.
Content retrieved from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinians-say-arab-participation-in-bahrain-economic-workshop-symbolic-only/.
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