The White House on Tuesday hosted 19 nations, including senior representatives Israel and Arab states, to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The Palestinian Authority boycotted the meeting, due to President Donald Trump’s announcement to formally recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last December.
Israel was represented by Major-General Yoav Mordechai, head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit, and representatives from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt and Jordan were present.
Also in attendance were representatives from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Norway, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to President Trump who is overseeing the Israeli-Palestinian peace-process for the White House, presented US ideas for projects in Gaza including health, sewage, electricity and water projects.
US officials said all the participants agreed that the humanitarian and economic crisis in Gaza requires immediate action from the international community. One of the senior administration officials said: “Fixing Gaza is necessary to achieve a peace agreement. It was refreshing to see the Arab and Israeli representatives at the same table. It was a good sign as we remain hard at work putting the finishing touches on our peace plan”.
The US administration is putting the final touches on a Middle East peace plan, and US officials said the conference was integral to future negotiations.
