Palestinians won’t attend US-led conference on West Bank, Gaza in Bahrain – minister

Palestinian officials will not attend a US-led conference in Bahrain next month designed to draw investment to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Reuters reports.

“There will be no Palestinian participation in the Manama workshop,” Social Development Minister Ahmed Majdalani, who is also a member of the executive committee of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization, said on Monday. “Any Palestinian who would take part would be nothing but a collaborator for the Americans and Israel,” the minister added.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Monday that the Palestinians have not been consulted about the conference in Bahrain.

Washington announced the conference on Sunday and described it as the unveiling of the first part of President Donald Trump’s long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.