Kushner to invite Arab leaders to Camp David to hear Trump's 'Middle East peace plan'

Kushner to invite Arab leaders to Camp David to hear Trump's 'Middle East peace plan'
Kushner heads to the Middle East to convince Arab heads of state to attend a September conference in Camp David.
3 min read
31 July, 2019
Jared Kushner will tour the Middle East to promote his economic plan for Palestine [AFP/Getty]

President Donald Trump's son-in-law and Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner, will invite Arab leaders to a "peace conference" in Camp David during his visit to the region. 

Kushner is returning to the Middle East on Wednesday to promote the administration's $50 billion economic support plan for Palestine that Ramallah rejected as it ignores their political demands.

Kushner's visit will include an invitation to Arab leaders to join him at the Camp David country retreat, Ynet reported Wednesday, where President Donald Trump will unveil his much anticpated Middle East peace plan, which has already been rejected by Palestinian leaders due to fears it will heavily favour Israel. 

The conference is set to take place before 17 September Israeli elections, Ynet reported quoting an unnamed Washington source.

Although Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu helped to design the peace plan, the source believes Netanyahu will not attend the conference.

Kushner will travel to US allies Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

Israeli ministers gave rare approval to 700 Palestinian homes in the part of the occupied West Bank under the country's full control while also approving 6,000 homes for settlers.

The house allocation for Palestinians, though relatively small and far outweighed by the new settlement homes, could allow Prime Minister Netanyahu to argue he is making efforts in favour of Kushner's long-awaited peace plan.

Last month at a Bahrain conference, Kushner outlined the plan's ambitious investment and development goals. It relies heavily on private sector investment in the West Bank, Gaza as well as Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. 

But the plan, with the political side due to be released, has yet failed to address key Palestinian demands such as the establishment of their own independent state.

Jordan's prime minister said earlier this month that an economic deal cannot be a substitute for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

The 'Peace to Prosperity' conference in Bahrain was boycotted by the Palestinians, who accused the unabashedly pro-Israel US President Donald Trump of dangling the prospect of cash to try to impose political solutions.

The Palestinian leadership, which has boycotted the White House over a series of pro-Israeli moves including recognising the disputed city of Jerusalem as capital of Israel.

Ramallah also says that a political solution to the conflict with Israel must come before economic issues.

Trump has cut aid and political support to the Palestinians, which critics say shows his administration's pro-Israel bias.

Washington has also refused to endorse a two-state solution that has long been seen as the only viable path to peace.

On 25 June, Kushner claimed that his Middle East peace plan was the "opportunity of the century" for Palestinians but that their acceptance was a "pre-condition" for peace.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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