Palestine Economy Portal

In an Israeli report regarding Bahrain Conference (Manama Workshop), it unveiled that officials focused on the Palestinian Economy as a way to cover the central informal theme; which is making behind-the-scene deals and normalization between Arab states and Israel.

The report pointed out that the behind-the-scenes deals were far more important for business men than the topic of the Conference itself.

It also referred to the European concern about the possibility of achieving the declared objectives of the Conference, as “the United States speaks, Europe pays.” The Europeans view with suspicion the theoretical exposure of the US investment in billions, while in factuality they are reducing aid to the Palestinians.  

The reporter of “Haaretz”, Noa Landao, unveiled that from behind-the-scenes, the Manama Workshop in Bahrain (on Wednesday) was made out of a big group of EU delegations that were monitoring the deliberations in question.

Instead of sending senior officials in political levels, many European countries sent staff from the ministries of Foreign Affairs or Finance to the Bahrain Conference.

 Landao pointed out that many European delegations were embarrassed about the economic separation of the alleged American peace plan; where Americans in Bahrain speak in theory of investing tens of billions of dollars in the Palestinian economy and the Palestinian society. But in reality, the European tax payers are the ones funding most of the Humanitarian projects on Earth, while the US is working to make more and more cuts in project budgets.

She also said: “with the absence of the Political chapter of the Peace plan, it is hard for European delegations to assume the feasibility and seriousness of the Economic chapter. On one side, they’re supporting the reforming of the Palestinian economy since they have been the Central Funders for the past few years. On the other hand, the political separation from the two-state solution makes it difficult for them to support the peace plan.”

She pointed that the second day of the Conference included Talks in the form of groups (Panels), parallel to many side meetings between representatives of Arab countries and Israeli businessmen.

The reporter said that: “it seems like normalization between Bahrain and the other Arab countries is far more important than the topic of the Conference itself, which is supposed to be about Palestinians. The unofficial, main topic of the conference is money, a lot of money. Businessmen and Consulting companies came here in order to make behind-the-scenes deals that are far more than peace.” She pointed out that the Palestinian boycotting of the Conference went along with the vibes of the Bahrain Conference, with the exception of Ashraf Jabari who is surrounded by suspicions about his relations with the occupation and the settlers.

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