US Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt said Thursday that he believes an economic plan was the best way to reignite the Israeli peace process, stalled since 2014.
In an interview with i24NEWS senior Washington correspondent Dan Raviv Greenblatt discussed his proposed future prosperity plans for the Palestinians following an economic summit held in Bahrain earlier this month.
"We understand completely that there is no such thing as an economic peace, but there is no such thing as a political agreement without a very strong economic plan," said Greenblatt. "I think the economic plan is exciting, I think it could show the Palestinians – Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon – what could be."
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In brokering any peace deal, Greenblatt stressed the need for the Palestinian Authority to rise to the occasion and engage with the White House administration's delegation in Trump's efforts to achieve the "deal of the century."
"If there's no full peace, nothing is going to happen," he added.
Asked at what point the long-awaited political component of the plan will be revealed, Greenblatt said it was "unclear" whether it will be unveiled before or after Israel's September elections, which could see an entirely new government.
The plan has already been rejected by the Palestinians, who say Trump's policies have shown him to be blatantly biased in favor of Israel and maintains that the administration can no longer be an impartial broker in any future deal.
Palestinian officials have boycotted any meetings with US officials following Trump's 2017 announcement unilaterally declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel, breaking with decades of US policy.
No PA officials were present at the workshop, but several prominent Palestinian business figures were in attendance.
Underscoring that the nature of the "workshop" as apolitical, Israeli government officials were also not invited to take part, as well as other world leaders or foreign ministers.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
