The White House on Saturday unveiled the economic portion of its Middle East peace plan, calling for $50 billion dollars in investments for Palestine and neighboring Arab states.

The plan, which has been long-promised and faced a number of delays, calls for increased infrastructure projects between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with a stated goal to "empower the Palestinian people to build a better future for themselves and their children."

Donald Trump's administration has touted the plan and called "Peace to Prosperity" as "the most ambitious and comprehensive international effort for the Palestinian people to date."

The plan is expected to be formally released by its architect, White House senior adviser and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, at the economic conference in Bahrain hosted by the US this week.

It plans to create one million jobs for Palestinians and calls for a mix of private and public funding, however, faces heavy skepticism with doubts on the plan's political vision and the US being distracted with heightened tensions with Iran.

Within 10 years, the plan aims to double Palestine's Gross Domestic Product (GPD) by calling for $27 billion dollars in projects in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as $9.1 billion, $7.4 billion and $6.3 billion for Palestinians in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. The plan also calls for a high-speed rail service to be created, offering a modern transportation system for Palestinians. It, however, can only be implemented if a political solution is agreed upon by Palestinians, Israelis, and other actors in the negotiations. </s> Reuters reports: The Trump administration’s $50 billion Middle East economic plan calls for creation of a global investment fund to lift the Palestinian and neighboring Arab state economies, and construction of a $5 billion transportation corridor to connect the West Bank and Gaza, according to U.S. officials and documents reviewed by Reuters.

The “peace to prosperity” plan, set to be presented by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at an international conference in Bahrain next week, includes 179 infrastructure and business projects, according to the documents. The approach toward reviving the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process was criticized by the Palestinians on Saturday.

The economic revival plan would take place only if a political solution to the region’s long-running problems is reached. </s> The Trump administration today released the economic portion of its long-delayed Mideast peace plan, calling for an investment of about $50 billion to lift up Palestinians economically.

About $28 billion would go to the West Bank and Gaza and billions more to Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, which have absorbed Palestinian refugees and dealt with other ramifications of the conflict for decades.

But the rollout Saturday does not include the political portion of the plan, and so doesn’t address the most critical questions in the conflict, such as whether the Palestinians will get an independent state and the status of Palestinian refugees, the city of Jerusalem, and Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday reaffirmed his opposition to an economic peace workshop that the U.S. is organizing next week in Bahrain.

Focusing on economic issues between Israel and the Palestinians "is unacceptable before the political situation is discussed," Abbas told top officials of his Fatah party.

With no official participation at the meeting next week from the two main protagonists, Israel and the Palestinians, and scant enthusiasm from others — plus continued uncertainty and strong doubts over the plan's political vision and the distraction of potential U.S.-Iran conflict — expectations are decidedly low.

Speaking about the broader U.S. plan, Abbas said it "will not pass because it ends the Palestinian cause."

The Palestinian President said the American scheme adopts Israel's visions and neglects the longstanding two-state solution, especially after Washington last year recognized contested Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The economic part of the plan for Palestinians that the White House released Saturday includes a $5 billion “transportation network” to connect the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which could include a rail line; a built-up Palestinian tourism industry, with roughly $1 billion in investments; and a total of 179 projects total, including for electricity, water, telecom and health care. Of these, 147 projects are in the Palestinian territories and the rest in neighboring countries.

The plan is for the money to come from donor nations, along with investors, which is the focus of the economic summit in Manama, Bahrain, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Neither Palestinian nor Israeli officials are attending.

The White House predicts that within 10 years, the economic plan will double Palestinian GDP, create more than 1 million jobs, cut the poverty rate by half, and reduce Palestinian unemployment to “nearly single digits.”

The political portion of the plan will be released later. The administration had intended to release it shortly after the economic plan, but the Israeli political crisis prompted the most recent delay. The administration now is expected to wait until after Israel’s elections in September before releasing the rest of the plan.

It was unclear why the White House, after working for more than two years to build up anticipation for the plan, released the first part of it quietly on Saturday with little fanfare, rather than on a weekday when news consumption is higher. The timing was also unusual in that was announced on Saturday, the Sabbath day in Israel that is also observed by both Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s envoy overseeing the peace plan under Kushner.

The White House said on Twitter, “Generations of Palestinians have lived under adversity and loss, but the next chapter can be defined by freedom and dignity. Today, we're unveiling Peace to Prosperity: the most ambitious international effort for the Palestinian people to date." </s> TEL AVIV -- The Trump administration's Middle East peace plan would marshal $50 billion in investments over 10 years for the Palestinian territories and neighbors Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon, administration officials said Saturday.

The economic portion of the peace plan is aimed at demonstrating what could be possible if the Israelis and Palestinians agree to the Trump administration's yet-to-be revealed political plan on borders, refugees and security. Its targets include doubling the Palestinian GDP, slashing Palestinian unemployment rates of 17.6% in the West Bank and 52% in Gaza to nearly single digits, and cutting the Palestinian poverty rate by 50%.

The Trump administration is hosting a conference in Bahrain on Tuesday and Wednesday to solicit feedback for the blueprint, including from Gulf Arab states that the administration hopes will be among the biggest donors of economic aid.

The economic blueprint makes no mention of some of the most difficult issues of the conflict, including the status of refugees, Jerusalem, or borders. Potential solutions for those issues won't be revealed until November, after Israel's elections in September.

"First lift the siege of Gaza, stop the Israeli theft of our land, resources & funds, give us our freedom of movement & control over our borders, airspace, territorial waters etc. Then watch us build a vibrant prosperous economy as a free & sovereign people," Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, said on Twitter.

The Israeli prime minister's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Releasing the economic plan months ahead of the political vision represented another unconventional step in the peace process for the Trump administration, which hasn't said it would put forward a plan for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, a linchpin of U.S. policy in the region for decades.

"Our thought was that it was better to put the economic plan first. It's less controversial. Let's let people study it, give feedback. Let's try to finalize if we can all agree on what that could look like in the event of a peace agreement," said President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser on the peace effort, Jared Kushner said in an interview with Reuters published Saturday.

The blueprint didn't make clear that it would lead to a state for the Palestinians, saying it would "empower the Palestinian people to build the society that they have aspired to establish for generations."

With the absence of any serious talks on the horizon, it is unlikely that donor countries or investors will pledge money to the effort soon.

Middle Eastern officials have played down the significance of the conference in recent days, and the gathering has been further cast into doubt with the announcement last week that there would be no Israeli or Palestinian government representation. The White House said it decided to not invite the Israeli government to keep the focus away from politics after Palestinian officials said they would boycott the event.

Officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco will be part of the gathering, as well as representatives from the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and businesspeople from Israel, the Palestinian territories, the Middle East and Europe. According to draft schedules, Colony Capital Chief Executive Thomas Barrack Jr. and Blackstone Group Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman will be among those appearing on panels at the event. </s> TEL AVIV -- The Trump administration's Middle East peace plan would marshal $50 billion in investments over 10 years for the Palestinian territories and neighbors Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon, administration officials said Saturday.

The economic portion of the peace plan is aimed at demonstrating what could be possible if the Israelis and Palestinians agree to the Trump administration's yet-to-be revealed political plan on borders, refugees and security. Its targets include doubling the Palestinian GDP, slashing Palestinian unemployment rates of 17.6% in the West Bank and 52% in Gaza to nearly single digits, and cutting the Palestinian poverty rate by 50%.

The Trump administration is hosting a conference in Bahrain on Tuesday and Wednesday to solicit feedback for the blueprint, including from Gulf Arab states that the administration hopes will be among the biggest donors of economic aid.

The economic blueprint makes no mention of some of the most difficult issues of the conflict, including the status of refugees, Jerusalem, or borders. Potential solutions for those issues won't be revealed until November, after Israel's elections in September.

"First lift the siege of Gaza, stop the Israeli theft of our land, resources & funds, give us our freedom of movement & control over our borders, airspace, territorial waters etc. Then watch us build a vibrant prosperous economy as a free & sovereign people," Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, said on Twitter.

The Israeli prime minister's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Releasing the economic plan months ahead of the political vision represented another unconventional step in the peace process for the Trump administration, which hasn't said it would put forward a plan for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, a linchpin of U.S. policy in the region for decades.

"Our thought was that it was better to put the economic plan first. It's less controversial. Let's let people study it, give feedback. Let's try to finalize if we can all agree on what that could look like in the event of a peace agreement," said President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser on the peace effort, Jared Kushner said in an interview with Reuters published Saturday.

The blueprint didn't make clear that it would lead to a state for the Palestinians, saying it would "empower the Palestinian people to build the society that they have aspired to establish for generations."

With the absence of any serious talks on the horizon, it is unlikely that donor countries or investors will pledge money to the effort soon.

Middle Eastern officials have played down the significance of the conference in recent days, and the gathering has been further cast into doubt with the announcement last week that there would be no Israeli or Palestinian government representation. The White House said it decided to not invite the Israeli government to keep the focus away from politics after Palestinian officials said they would boycott the event.

Officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco will be part of the gathering, as well as representatives from the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and businesspeople from Israel, the Palestinian territories, the Middle East and Europe. According to draft schedules, Colony Capital Chief Executive Thomas Barrack Jr. and Blackstone Group Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman will be among those appearing on panels at the event.

The U.S. would place funds raised for the effort into a fund administered by a multinational development bank, according to the plan. The blueprint calls for funds for 179 economic development projects, mostly in the West Bank and Gaza but also in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. They include water, power, tourism, medical facilities and telecommunications projects.

The blueprint pledges to open the West Bank and Gaza to regional and global markets by investing in transportation and infrastructure, providing financial and technical assistance at key crossing points and constructing new ports of entry. It also calls for funds to develop a transportation corridor directly connecting the West Bank and Gaza through a major road and a modern rail line.

The proposals seem out of reach for now. Palestinian government officials, who would need to be part of any peace discussion, have refused to talk to Trump administration officials for almost two years after the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. They have repeatedly rejected the Bahrain conference and have urged Arab states to do the same.

And the World Bank has repeatedly concluded that Israeli constraints on movement, access and trade "continue to be the main impediment to economic growth in the Palestinian territories."

Israelis are increasingly dismissive of two states. The violent Palestinian uprising known as the second intifada that followed the 1993 Oslo Accords convinced many Israelis that a broader pact with the Palestinians was untenable. A decade of stability and prosperity, as well as improved ties with Persian Gulf Arab neighbors, has convinced many that the status quo works.

Some officials involved in former peace efforts said no matter how ambitious the Trump blueprint is, it misses the key sticking point that has dogged years of negotiations.

"The problem is not the money to build the road; the problem is the Palestinian people don't have freedom. They need a state. They need permission to make their own decisions," said Hady Amr, who was the Obama administration's deputy Israeli-Palestinian negotiations envoy from 2014 to 2017 and focused on economic issues. </s> The Trump administration yesterday announced an economic “workshop” in Bahrain in June, as the White House begins to roll out its so-called “peace plan” for Israel and the Palestinians.

As reported by CNN, the gathering is intended to “encourage investing capital in the West Bank, Gaza, and the region”, citing a senior administration official.

The workshop will take place in Manama, Bahrain, on 25 and 26 June, “bringing together finance ministers with global and regional business leaders”, the report revealed.

Senior White House adviser and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner told CNN that “people are letting their grandfathers’ conflict destroy their children’s futures. This will present an exciting, realistic and viable pathway forward that does not currently exist.”

The official who spoke to CNN said that the plan will have four main components: “infrastructure, industry, empowering and investing in people, and governance reforms”.

The economic plan will include a “combination of grant money, low-interest loans and then also private capital”, a second senior administration told reporters yesterday.

However, the workshop will intentionally avoid “political issues”, including Palestinian statehood, the status of Jerusalem, and Palestinian refugees. “Finance ministers, but not foreign ministers, will be invited along with delegations of business leaders,” CNN pointed out.

“We recognize that this needs to go hand in hand with the political plan, but this will be the first chance to roll out details of the economic plan,” the first official said.

According to CNN, “the official denied that the rollout was being done this way so as to present a vision of a more prosperous Palestinian territory so as to encourage greater concessions in any political talks down the line.”

“It’s tough to digest both the economic and political proposals at once, since they’re both very detailed proposals,” the official said.

Responding yesterday, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh, told CNN that the plan is “futile”.

“Any economic plan without political horizons will lead nowhere,” he said, adding, “Palestinians will not accept any proposals which do not include a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Other reports suggested that while the PA “is not expected to participate in the workshop”, a senior US official “said the White House invited a group of Palestinian businessmen and is expecting some of them to attend”.

A changing Middle East: Why the deal of the century will fail </s> U.S. to encourage investment in Palestinian areas as first part of peace plan

The White House will unveil the first part of President Donald Trump’s long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan when it holds an international conference in Bahrain in late June to encourage investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, senior U.S. officials said on Sunday. </s> Washington: United States (US) president Donald Trump has ordered the state department to withdraw $200 million-worth aid which was previously planned for West Bank and Gaza.

"At the direction of the President, we will redirect more than $200 million in FY 2017 Economic Support Funds originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza. Those funds will now address high-priority projects elsewhere," a senior state department official told CNN.

The decision to withdraw the aid comes after Trump ordered a review of "US assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests and provide value to the US taxpayer."

Condemning the decision, Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi said the US administration was "demonstrating the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool," and added that the Palestinian leadership would not be intimidated by the same.

"There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation. The US administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation and its theft of land and resources; now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation," Ashrawi said. </s> According to CNN, President Trump ordered the State Department to revoke over $200 million in economic aid to Palestine on Friday following a department-wide review examining whether or not the funding was in the American taxpayers’ best interests.

A senior official from the State Department claimed that the economic aid, that was later withdrawn, was initially intended to help fund programs in the the West Bank and Gaza.

“At the direction of the President, we will redirect more than $200 million in FY2017 Economic Support Funds originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza,” the official said. “Those funds will now address high-priority projects elsewhere.” In addition to sending funds to help provide and maintain local law enforcement in Palestine, many cultural and educational programs are created and kept afloat through the Middle East Partnership Initiative.

This announcement comes after the president instructed the State Department to conduct a review to ensure that U.S. assistance to Palestine corresponds with America’s own national interests.

“This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza’s citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation,” according to a notice relayed from the State Department.

While the decision is widely supported by the Trump administration, congressional Democrats have already voiced their opposition to the move, claiming that it would only cause further damage to the growing conflict between Israel and Palestine. The vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy, asserted that, after well over a year and a half in office, President Trump has failed “to announce anything remotely resembling a coherent policy to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

“Inhabitants of Gaza are already suffering severe hardships under the tyranny of Hamas and border restrictions imposed by Israel,” Leahy continued. “It is the Palestinian people, virtual prisoners in an increasingly volatile conflict, who will most directly suffer the consequences of this callous and ill-advised attempt to respond to Israel’s security concerns.”

An executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hanan Ashrawi, also denounced President Trump’s order to withdraw funds from the Palestinian territories of both the West Bank and Gaza.

“The U.S. administration is demonstrating the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool. The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion,” Ashwari said, in a statement released to CNN.

“There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation,” Ashrawi continued, adding that the United States “has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation…now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation.”
The Trump administration releases a $50 billion plan that calls for investment in Palestine's economy.