Palestinians boycott Jared Kushner's White House conference on Gaza

The White House held a meeting on the Gazan crisis on Tuesday, but no Palestinians attended, AP reported.

Participants at Tuesday's talks included Israelis and Arab nations Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, which do not maintain direct diplomatic relations with Israel. Egypt and Jordan were also present, but both countries have relations with Israel.

The meeting was billed as a conference of international donors and aimed at altering the perception the Trump administration is unconcerned with Palestinians' future.

Palestinians boycotted the meeting and have effectively cut ties to the White House after President Trump announced in December the US would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Decades of US policy had insisted that the city's status be decided in future negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is leading the White House effort to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace, presided over several hours of discussions about short-term projects that could improve the situation Gaza, which has been under an Israeli-led blockade since 2008.

No details of new commitments or projects came out of Tuesday's meeting. Senior administration officials declined to offer details or to describe what countries participating in the summit had put forward.

The conference came the same day that a bomb struck Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah's convoy as he entered Gaza. 

Hamas denied involvement, and there was no official claim of responsibility.

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