The Palestinian Authority (PA) is pouring cold water on the US plan to convene a conference in Bahrain on June 25-26 to promote investment and business opportunities for the West Bank and Gaza, for fear it is part of the dreaded ”deal of the century” that President Donald Trump is contemplating for the Palestinians.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh flatly rejected the idea, saying that his government was not even consulted on it. Palestinian Social Development Minister Ahmed Majdalani went even further after a Cabinet meeting by declaring that “there will be no Palestinian participation in the Manama workshop. Any Palestinian who would take part would be nothing but a collaborator for the Americans and Israelis”. Hamas followed suit. Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum emphasised that “we reject any economic and political steps that aim to implement the deal of the century or to normalise ties with the Israeli enemy”.
These are strong words from the PA and Hamas against an investment conference that business leaders and executives from Europe, the Middle East, the US and Asia are expected to attend. This premature negativism is unwarranted and has become a familiar pattern in the Palestinian thought that made things worse for the Palestinian people.
For starters, no one, including the Palestinians, knows for sure what this suspicious ”deal of the century” really looks like. Without having an inkling of what the US proposal for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis would look like, the Palestinians have rushed to reject it in toto.
Besides, a meeting to promote the economy of the Palestinian territories by inviting investments from the US, Europe and Asia could be as benign as it sounds. The Palestinians may welcome this initiative after all without endorsing the wider political implications. The Palestinian side would be better advised not to rush into taking positions that may hurt them, especially when the projected Manama conference as such is only a forum for considering improving the Palestinian economies in the West Bank and Gaza.
Welcoming the conference in Bahrain, or at least not impeding it, would provide the Palestinians with an opportunity to test the full implications of the initiative. Breathing life into the lifeless Palestinian economy cannot in itself be so bad after all. The Palestinian leadership cannot go on saying “no” to everything offered to them before examining the full implications.
The Manama initiative may not be such a bad idea before exploring it.
Given how former diplomats who were so invested in the Oslo process have been so vocal in disparaging the Bahrain conference before even knowing what it is about, this is a refreshing opinion - and one that makes a lot of sense.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
Gaza terrorists try to aim rockets during Jewish holidaysThe Arabic Maan news agency has an interview on the "inside story" of the terrorists who launch rockets towards Israel. The autotranslate is very poor so I will try to quote it and correct it as best as I can, but the article…Read More
"Mujahideen Secret" - Terrorist encryptionThe MEMRI blog reportsOn January 1, 2007 the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) announced the imminent release of new computer software called "Mujahideen Secret." According to the advertisement for the software (see below), i…Read More
Huge demand for Saddam photos by PalArabsFrom "Palestine News Network:"In a show of solidarity with the executed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, hundreds of Palestinian homes have put his picture on their walls. Many already had them as Hussein was considered a hero…Read More
All PalArabs are united - in condemning Saddam's executionFatah and Hamas might be fighting and lots of other groups may be building their own armies, but Palestinian Arabs are united on one topic: that Saddam Hussein was their hero.According to Hamas' Ramattan "news" agency, every …Read More
This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.
Visas for Terrorists, No Visas for Israelis
-
There was outrage after the move to deport foreign campus terrorist
supporters, including Momodou Taal, who had urged student protesters to
take their c...
This is what terrorist propaganda looks like
-
Just a few weeks after the BBC were forced to take down a documentary
because of Hamas family ties to the narrator – the BBC anti-Israel factory
has chur...
-
This is Sali, the LSW posting for Yaakov. Yaakov is recovering from a stoke
that he had about a month ago. Thank you all so very much for your good
wishes,...
Peter Beinart’s anti-Jewish Purim Propaganda
-
Peter Beinart is not the first person to accuse Jews of genocide in the
Purim story. It is a staple of antisemites. Beinart’s perversion is to make
this ac...
Emigration to Mandate Palestine from the Hauran
-
A report on the present conditions in the Hauran was published in the
Journal of The Royal Central Asian Society in 1936.
One of the topics was the emigr...
One Choice: Fight to Win
-
Yesterday Israel preempted a potentially disastrous attack by Hezbollah on
the center of the country. Thirty minutes before launch time, our aircraft
destr...
Closing Jews Down Under Website
-
With a heavyish heart I am closing down the website after ten years.
It is and it isn’t an easy decision after 10 years of constant work. The
past...
‘Test & Trace’ is a mirage
-
Lockdown II thoughts: Day 1 Opposition politicians have been banging on
about the need for a ‘working’ Test & Trace system even more loudly than
the govern...