Where are the signatures on a two state solution peace plan? The idea of expanding Gaza into Egypt has been denied by Jason Greenblatt, the US Envoy to the Middle East. My understanding is that Israel will not be in attendance of this meeting.
It sounds wonderful, but, the groundwork has not been conducted. One of Jordan's biggest problems right now are refugees from the continuing civil war in Syria. The economic stimulus for Jordan will be absorbed in it's handling of refugees unless there is a firm contract with the USA to channel monies to projects that will provide economic development. It isn't as though Jordan would not agree to that or use the monies for that purpose, but, where are all the agreements. Providing relief to Jordan can be autonomous from any other agreement.
19 June 2019
...In a statement quoted by the PA’s official Wafa news agency, (click here) Abu Rudeineh said that the Palestinian national stand, the international consensus and the insistence on the independent decision have once again thwarted all “conspiracies” against the Palestinian cause and preserved Jerusalem, its holy places and the Palestinian identity.
“Any meeting, whether in Bahrain or elsewhere and without the legitimate Palestinian endorsement, proves that Washington cannot and will not succeed on its own in achieving anything,” he said, according to Wafa.
Abu Rudeineh further claimed that “the position of the President and the Palestinian leadership from the constants, particularly Jerusalem, the prisoners and the Palestinian identity, will foil any plot, or workshop or meeting.”
He was referring to the upcoming economic workshop in Bahrain, during which the Trump administration is planning to release the economic component of its Middle East peace plan....
Israel has to agree to this and I don't see it. Israel is moving into the West Bank as I write this. $28 billion as an investment in ending poverty, hatred, and war is a magnificent beginning, but, there have been no meetings between all the parties, including Egypt and Jordan to ensure the prosperity that is laid out in this proposal. This proposal sounds like the end of a long negotiation that resulted in a two-state solution. This is the beginning when it looks like the end.
At this point it is an interesting vision, but, not much else. When the USA invaded Iraq there was an economic forum to provide pledges of help including debt relief. The effort was contained within one country. What followed was years of war.
Afghanistan is no different. The post 911 wars are estimated to have cost $5.9 trillion US and 500,000 lives. The crime of all this is that economic development has always been a focus whenever the USA is involved, but, the result is not a better quality of life and simply more war because of religious and cultural differences.
22 June 2019
Senior White House (click here) adviser Jared Kushner on Saturday revealed the long-awaited details of the economic aspect of the US peace plan, saying it would inject $50 billion into struggling economies in the Middle East over the next ten years.
In an interview with the Reuters news agency three days ahead of the Washington-led economic workshop in Bahrain, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law said that over half of the funds ($28 billion) would go toward the West Bank and Gaza Strip while $7.5 billion would go to Jordan, $9 billion to Egypt and $6 billion to Lebanon.
“If you can also get that whole region starting to lift, and if you can get a quicker flow of goods and people in all the different areas that are necessary in industry instead of bullets and munitions and war, then I think that will really lead to a big increase in investment in the area and more jobs and better quality of life and hopefully more peace along with it,” Kushner said....
If every country involved agrees to end the hatred and killing which accomplishes nothing and moves to economic development for the purpose of peace and a better quality of life for the people, then it will work. I just don't see that groundwork or that level of commitment. At least Jordan and Egypt have sovereign governments. Jordan would be dedicated without question. Egypt has to commit to government reforms to maintain peace and increase the quality of life for all its citizens. The Palestinian Authority has little control of what occurs in Gaza and we know what kind of turbulence there is in Gaza.
I already know Israel won't commit to a Gaza that carries out free trade. Israel has locked down the waters from fishing as of about a week ago. Israel will not allow the free flow of goods into or out of Gaza.
All this has to be on paper with details that reassure the success of economic development. There is a lot of work to be done before such efforts will take hold and secure the region from further upheaval. This doesn't even address the impact the Syrian civil war has on these plans.
It sounds great, but, in application, as of now, it will most likely fail.
