Israeli government representatives have not been invited to the Trump administration's Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in Bahrain next week, a senior administration official to Israel Hayom on Monday.
"This is a workshop where we will present our economic vision for the Palestinian people. As such, we want the focus to be on the economic aspect, not the political," the official said.
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The announcement means that neither Israeli nor Palestinian political leaders will be attending the event in Manama on June 25-26 meant to shape their fate.
Palestinian business representatives were expected to attend, a White House official said.
As a result, the administration decided not to extend an invitation to Israeli government officials, although the conference is expected to be attended by envoys from Arab governments as well as European nations.
Last week the White House announced that Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco would be attending the workshop in Manama, in yet another diplomatic setback for the Palestinian Authority.
The plan, touted by Trump as the "deal of the century," is to encourage investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Arab donor countries before grappling with thorny political issues at the heart of the conflict.
The Palestinians, accusing the US of bias favoring Israel, have rejected it out of hand and urged Arab countries to boycott the meeting.
