Jared Kushner unveils Middle East peace plan to inject $50B into Arab nations
The Trump administration is dangling a $50 billion carrot as the opening gambit for its long-awaited Mideast peace plan.
The White House rolled out a suite of 179 business and infrastructure projects Saturday that presidential advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner will present to a gathering of Arab political and business leaders in Bahrain next week.
“This is going to be the ‘Opportunity of the Century’ if they have the courage to pursue it,” Kushner told the Reuters news agency.
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But the meeting will include no officials from Israel or from the economically troubled Palestinian territories — an indication of just how difficult it will be to put the proposal into practice.
Wealthy Gulf states and private investors would provide much of the funding for the “Peace to Prosperity” plan, Kushner said.
The “economy first” approach is intended to show the Palestinian people that a prosperous future is possible if they work out a peace plan with Israel.
But the ambitious set of proposals, including a $5 billion transportation corridor that would be the first direct link between the West Bank and Gaza, would only go into effect after a political solution has been reached.
“We’d like to see you go to the table and negotiate and try to make a deal to better the lives of the Palestinian people,” Kushner said.