Palestinians urge Egypt, Jordan not to attend US-led Bahrain conference

Palestinians have urged Egypt and Jordan to reconsider their attendance at a US-led conference to be held on June 25-26 in Bahrain, voicing concern it would weaken any Arab opposition to Washington’s coming peace plan, according to Reuters.

The US has described the gathering as a workshop to boost the Palestinian economy as part of a broader diplomatic effort to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinian leaders are boycotting the meeting. They say that a still unpublished plan called President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” falls short of their goal of statehood.

The Palestinian Authority “urges Egypt and Jordan not to attend the Bahrain conference,” Ibrahim Melhem, a spokesman for the Palestinian government, said on Facebook after US officials announced the two states, along with Morocco, would participate in the event.