Chaos as Palestinians reject Trump's “meaningless” flagship Middle East plan

Washington had hoped to launch their long-awaited peace plan this week to help ease tensions between Israel and Palestine in the region. But the 96-page document – masterminded by Mr Trump’s adviser Jared Kushner – was slammed for its alleged pro-Israel bias and lack of political focus. The full details will be presented in Bahrain at a summit on Tuesday – but the plan is still unlikely to gain any semblance of Palestinian approval.

Mr Kushner unveiled the plan as an ambitious – but feasible – path to peace in the contested region.

He added: “For too long the Palestinian people have been trapped in inefficient frameworks of the past.

“The Peace to Prosperity plan is a framework for a brighter, more prosperous future for the Palestinian people and the region and a vision of what is possible if there is peace.”

Hinging on a $50billion investment in the country over the next 10 years, the plan aims to create over one million jobs in Palestine and reduce the poverty rate by half.

One furious Gazan demonstrator said: “The Manama conference is a comedy show, a wedding without the bride.

“It will not succeed.”

Another labelled the attending Arab states as “treasonous” and accused them of playing into the hands of Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, protestors – marching in both the West Bank and Gaza – were quickly echoed by Palestinian leaders and allies.

Fatah boss Mahmoud Abbas rallied against the economic deal and said: “There will not be normalization with Israel before there is a political solution between the Palestinians and Israel.

“We will not be slaves or servants to Jared Kushner, (US special representative for international negotiations) Jason Greenblatt or (US Ambassador to Israel) David Friedman.

“They are the ones making the judgment and we will not accept this or let them say whatever they want.”

The Palestinian authorities will boycott the conference in protest, with only a single businessman from the country expected to attend in a private capacity.

Ally Iran, who are keen to see an independent Palestinian state emerge, also rebuffed the deal in an unsurprising move.

Foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said: “This conference and the sale of Palestine will lead nowhere.”

He also called the plan “shameful” and “doomed to failure”.

Experts criticised the plan as unrealistic, querying how any additional funding will benefit the Gazan people while the Israeli blockade is still erected.

However, the plan is being welcomed by Saudi Arabia and Israel – despite the latter not being invited to the conference.

Last week Mr Netanyahu praised the conference as “an attempt by the United States to bring a better future and solve the problems of the region.”

Israeli officials weren’t invited, according to the White House, due to the desired focus on economic issues in the region.

Saudi foreign minister Adel Jubeir was more tentative, saying: “I think anything that improves the situation of the Palestinian people is something that should be welcomed.

“Now having said that, the political process is extremely important.”

The US will likely need the support of their Gulf allies if the plan is to gain any sort of traction.

The Gulf Arab states at the Bahrain conference will be joined by Jordan and Egypt – all of whom are deemed to have a significant interest in the region.

Tensions between the Palestinians and Washington initally rose after Mr Trump’s controversial decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2017.

Washington’s decision invoked Palestinian hostility due to their claim over East Jerusalem and provided the backdrop to months of protest at the border.

source: express.co.uk