White House: Israelis not invited to Mideast peace workshop

WASHINGTON – A White House official says that Israeli representatives have not been invited to the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in Bahrain next week.

The official said Monday that the meeting is to focus on the administration’s “economic vision” for the Palestinians and will not focus on “political issues.”

The administration official was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The announcement means that neither Israelis nor Palestinians will be attending a conference meant to shape their fate.

The Palestinians, accusing the U.S. of bias favouring Israel, have rejected the Trump administration’s peace plan out of hand and have urged Arab countries to boycott the meeting.

Last week the White House said Jordan, Egypt and Morocco would be attending the workshop in Manama.