Egypt, Jordan and Morocco will attend the US-led conference in Bahrain this month on proposals for boosting the Palestinian economy, US officials said Tuesday.
Egypt and Jordan’s participation is considered especially important since historically they have been key players in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, reported Reuters.
The conference is part of the upcoming US peace plan, dubbed the “deal of the century” by President Donald Trump.
Palestinian leaders’ decision to boycott the June 25-26 conference has raised doubts about its chances for success. They have shunned a broader diplomatic effort, which they see as likely to be heavily tilted in favor of Israel and denying them a state of their own.
Despite that, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a chief architect of the long-delayed peace plan, is pressing ahead with arrangements for the Bahrain meeting, where the economic components are expected to be unveiled as the first step in the plan’s rollout.
Acceptance of the invitation to the conference by Jordan and Egypt will bring to the table two countries that border both Israel and Palestinian areas.
Global financial bodies including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank also plan to be present.
US officials have been vague about the timing for the second phase of their initiative, which would be the release of proposals for resolving the thorny political issues at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
With Israel heading for new elections in September after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to meet a deadline to form a government, uncertainty is expected to further delay the full release of the plan.
