‘We stand with Palestinians’

Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said yesterday that Bahrain always stand with Palestinians, following the “Peace to Prosperity” held in the Kingdom this week. Speaking to Al Arabiya, he said that the proposed US Middle East peace plan “will be between the two parties (Palestine and Israel)”. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, led the US delegation at a two-day workshop in the Bahraini capital to support the economy of Palestine and its people.

Shaikh Khalid confirmed that Bahrain’s position was clear and well-known and that it supported the Palestinian people and its decisions. “We support the right of the Palestinian people to a state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the minister added. On Iran, the minister said: “Iranian policy is the greatest threat to the region and Tehran is responsible for any confrontation or military escalation. “We appreciate the US position not to be drawn into a military confrontation with Iran.”

He also said the Peace to Prosperity workshop in Manama, which was held on June 25-26, was “not a step towards normalising ties with Israel,” adding that “the Palestinian Authority has a view that we respect and it respects our position.” The minister expressed appreciation of the US role in maintaining regional security without being dragged into military confrontation by Iran’s irresponsible and hostile behaviours. He expressed great expectations for the workshop organised by the United States and hosted in Bahrain, praising the high-profile experts’ participation in the Peace to Prosperity workshop, including World Bank’s president, representatives from the private sector in the G5 nations and influential countries across the continents. He added that the two-day hosted by Bahrain and came up with ideas and a tremendous role for the biggest player in the Middle East alluding to the United States. The workshop offered great opportunities for the region’s peoples, especially the Palestinian people, of development, education and better living.

Meanwhile, business leaders from the US and the Middle East have reacted with guarded enthusiasm to the Peace to Prosperity plan presented by White House special adviser Jared Kushner to an audience of global decision-makers in Bahrain’s capital Manama. Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and CEO of the big investment business Blackstone Group, said the plan “could happen in the right circumstances. We all have to have a dream, and this is a very sensible dream.” Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of the UAE property and leisure group Emaar, said Palestine is very important for all Arabs.

“The issue is very close to our hearts. Every one of us is Palestinian at heart, and I feel I represent them here tonight,” he said in reference to the absence of Palestinian Authority delegates at the event. Earlier, the audience of business leaders and policymakers from around the world listened attentively as Kushner unveiled details of the $50 billion plan to revive the Palestinian and regional economy. He is hoping to attract investment from Middle Eastern and other governments, as well as private enterprise from around the world, for the proposals, which are designed to revive the Palestinian economy, create one million jobs and cut the poverty rate in the occupied territories.

About $27 billion of the total is earmarked for Palestine, and only 20 percent of that will be straight equity. “That’s only $5.5 billion, and it’s not that much money. It’s a good-sized proposal you’d expect to be financing at the World Bank,” Schwarzman said. “This type of transformation is financially doable. It’s a question of whether there’s the political will.”