As the 'Peace for Prosperity' conference in Bahrain came to an end on Wednesday, US Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt said that Washington was pleased with the summit, which unveiled the economic portion of Washington's long-awaited peace plan.
The White House kicked off its bid for Israeli-Palestinian peace with the ambitious economic conference in Bahrain which it hopes will pave the way for a political resolution to the decades-long conflict.
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The event and proposal, however, have been met with lukewarm reception, with critics noting that the business-minded plan fails to address the most sensitive disputes at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"We changed the conversation," Greenblatt told i24NEWS, shrugging off criticism. "Nobody can create a situation that doesn't include an economic package. What we heard from the investors is 'we can make this happen. This is an investable type of project if the political solution is there.'"
The envoy emphasized the need for Israelis to be involved in any peace deal, insisting that in order to create a successful Palestinian economy, there "needs to be a connection with the Israeli economy. And we think that can happen quickly now that we've released the economic portion."
Still, Greenblatt said the administration does not have a final timeline for the release of the political side of the US peace proposal, citing a "wrinkle" in its roll-out after a second Israeli election was called for September.
Palestinians with whom Greenblatt has been tasked with making peace have clashed often with the envoy, with senior Palestine Liberation Official Hanan Ashrawi labeling Greenblatt a "self-appointed advocate/apologist for Israel."
Calling the plan "dead on arrival," Palestinians have slammed the forthcoming US proposal as blatantly biased toward Israel, citing the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem and the slashing of funds for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees as evidence that the plan will not meet their demands.
Speaking at the conference, US President Donald Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner said that the White House did not intend to punish the Palestinians for their decision to boycott the Manama summit.
In an interview with Channel 13 and the Axios news site on Wednesday, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said the Palestinians had made a mistake by boycotting the economic conference in Manama.
In what was the first interview by a Gulf official with an Israeli media outlet, the king said he hoped that by sitting down with an Israeli journalist, he hoped to ease Middle East tensions by talking directly to the Israeli public.
"Israel is part of this heritage of this whole region historically. So the Jewish people have a place amongst us. So communication needs to be a prerequisite for solving all of the dispute. We should talk."
Of the Palestinians decision to skip the conference, he said, "It is always a mistake to miss an opportunity to achieve peace. … This was an opportunity that we wanted to see them here, but they chose not to come."
In a message to Ramallah, he added, "It will not be a good idea to shun the role of the US in the peace process."
Turning to Iran, the king called the Shiite Republic "a major threat to the security and stability of the region." He said Tehran was exacerbating the Middle East conflict by providing resources to its proxies there and emphasized that Israel had the right to act against Iranian forces inside Syria.
As for the recent spike in tensions between the US and Iran, he said Tehran was pushing for war with its recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and drone attacks from Yemen, among other provocations.
"This regime only survives with aggression. Only survives with exporting the Revolution. Only survives by taking control. So I think the restraint of the US is very wise," he said.
Wrapping up the economic conference, Kushner said he was cautiously optimistic about the potential for the economic aspect of the plan to succeed.
Kushner said that many people he spoke with during the conference believe the US plan could be implemented if the conditions are right. He said ideas for moving forward on economic development would be examined in the coming days.
In fact, Arab finance ministers interviewed at the conference voiced support for the plan.
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said Riyadh would support "anything that brings prosperity to the region" and that he was "very optimistic" about the prospects of the plan.
Noting Saudi Arabia's support for the Palestinians, he said the conference had shown them there was an international commitment to bringing prosperity to the Palestinians.
The United Arab Emirates' finance minister, Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was more direct in his assessment.
"We need to give this initiative a chance. In order for it to succeed, we need international institutions. If this is the only initiative on the table, we need to give it a chance. We supported the Palestinians over the past 15 years, in order to keep the issue on the table. But now we need to move forward," he said.
