On Saturday, senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, unveiled an economic and infrastructure proposal promising a $50 billion investment into the Palestinian economy over the next decade, as part of the long-awaited ‘deal of the century’ U.S. Middle East peace plan.
The economic plan will launch with the ‘Peace to Prosperity’ workshop this Tuesday in Bahrain. The US administration together with some other Arab states maintain that this forum will “facilitate discussions on an ambitious, achievable vision and framework for a prosperous future for the Palestinian people and the region”.
An initial preliminary 40-page document has been released but details of the plan have not yet been fully disclosed. According to U.S. officials however, the deal includes close to 200 business projects which will bolster the Palestinian economy, create work opportunities and improve the lives of the average Palestinian.
Over half the funding, $27.5bn, will be directed towards schemes in the West Bank, and Hamas-controlled Gaza which is beset with economic difficulties, including the construction of a $5 billion transportation corridor connecting both Palestinian territories. The remaining funds – $9.1bn, $7.4bn and $6.3bn – will be split between Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon respectively.
The proposition entails a combination of private and public financing with the prime objective of creating at least one million new jobs for Palestinians. Over the next 10 years, it is projected to double Palestinian GDP and reduce the poverty rate by 50%. The projects envisioned will be mainly in the healthcare sector, energy and power industries, the education system and tourism.
Kushner has stressed that he is presenting a “vision”, not a concrete plan, as he is looking for crucial feedback from other actors and is not looking for commitments and financial pledges at this early stage. He acknowledged: “You can’t push the economic plan forward without resolving the political issues as well”.
While it has been reported that some Palestinian businessmen from small-and-medium enterprises have been invited and will be in attendance, the Palestinian leadership – both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority – have rejected the entire idea and have refused to send any representatives to the conference in Manama, Bahrain.
President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, said on Saturday that: “As long as there is no political solution, we do not deal with any economic solution”. Iraq and Lebanon have joined the Palestinians in their boycott.
Bahrain does not formally recognise Israel so it is highly unlikely there will be any official Israeli representation. Several Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have sent delegations. Jordan too will be in attendance but officials have stated that the economic plan cannot substitute the need of a political solution.
The US has insisted in response that it is a two-phased approach with the second part of the deal consisting of the political matters in question, details of which will be released at a later unspecified date.
