Palestinians say they weren't consulted about U.S.-led economic conference

Record ID: 1414336

  • Title: Palestinians say they weren't consulted about U.S.-led economic conference
  • Date: 20th May 2019
  • Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (MAY 20, 2019) (REUTERS) GOVERNMENT BUILDING MINISTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, SAYING: "The cabinet stresses that it wasn't consulted about the reported workshop, neither about the content nor the outcome and or the timing. It clarifies that the financial crisis that the Palestinian National Authority is living through today is a result of the financial war that is being waged against us in order to win political concessions. We do not submit to blackmail and we don't trade our political rights for money."
  • Embargoed: 3rd June 2019 09:52
  • Keywords: Israel Palestinians economy USA Trump deal of the century
  • Location: RAMALLAH, BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK/GAZA CITY, GAZA
  • City: RAMALLAH, BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK/GAZA CITY, GAZA
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA003AFPF493
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:The Palestinians have not been consulted about a U.S.-led conference in Bahrain next month designed to encourage international investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Monday (May 20).
    Washington announced the conference on Sunday (May 19), describing it as the unveiling of the first part of President Donald Trump's long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
    The Palestinians, who have boycotted the Trump administration since it recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in late 2017, have shown little interest in discussing the plan.
    Addressing Palestinian ministers in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Shtayyeh did not immediately say whether Palestinians would attend the June 25-26 event in Manama, which U.S. officials have predicted will include representatives and business executives from Europe, the Middle East and Asia, as well as some finance ministers.
    Shtayyeh reiterated Palestinians' core demands for a two-state peace deal with Israel, which include gaining full control of the occupied West Bank and Hamas-ruled Gaza, as well as East Jerusalem. Israel calls Jerusalem its indivisible capital and said it might declare sovereignty in its West Bank settlements.
    The Trump administration has said its still-secret peace plan would require compromise by both sides. Since being shunned by the Palestinians, it has cut back on U.S. aid for them, contributing to economic hardship in the West Bank and Gaza.
    (Production: Hassan Hamouda, Rinat Harash)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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