Money talks in Trump's Mideast plan. But can it pave way for peace? by farrellreporter
JERUSALEM - More than two years after U.S. President Donald Trump first proposed a plan to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, its first phase will be formally unveiled on Tuesday at an economic workshop in Bahrain.
But the White House’s economic prospectus makes no mention of Palestinian statehood. And little has so far been revealed about the later political stage of the plan, which will have to address this and other issues that have defied decades of efforts by previous peacemakers.-The status of Jerusalem – which includes sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity-Finding security arrangements to satisfy Israel’s fears of attacks by Palestinians and hostile neighbors.
It calls for a $50 billion investment fund to boost the Palestinian and neighboring Arab state economies, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. But some of the economic proposals have been floated before – such as the transportation corridor linking Gaza and the West Bank – and stalled for lack of underlying political or security agreements.
“Under any peace agreement our position will be that Israel’s presence should continue here, for Israel’s security and for the security of all,” he said. “What have the Americans proposed that is original? 50 or 60 billion dollars? We are used to this kind of nonsense. Let’s not lie to each other. We’ll see if anyone lives long enough to see that $50 billion or $60 billion come.”Nathan Thrall, Director of the Israel/Palestine Project, International Crisis Group:
“I can’t tell you how many times while working on the Arab-Israeli negotiations over the course of a 20-year period, I’ve had Middle East proposals for Middle East “Marshall plans” cross my desk. The reality is that both in sequence and in scope it’s very problematic to use economic incentives - development, trade, assistance, even institution-building, without first obviously addressing the core political needs and requirements of peoples in conflict.
And both Trump and Netanyahu face election campaigns – Trump for re-election, and Netanyahu because he failed to put together a governing coalition in an election in April.With Israel, the West Bank and Gaza out of the question for political and security reasons, the Trump administration needed a safe space somewhere in the region.The Four Seasons hotel, where the two-day event will be held lies on an island connected to the mainland by only one bridge.
A senior Trump administration official said that China had still not confirmed whether it would send a representative, but that Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund was planning to attend.
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