GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says his Palestinian terror group rejects next week’s US-sponsored Middle East economic conference in Bahrain as it would amount to Arab “normalization” of ties with Israel.
“We clearly express our rejection and non-acceptance of any Arab or Islamic country holding such a conference, which constitutes normalization with the occupation,” Haniyeh says, referring to Israel.
US President Donald Trump’s administration organized the conference, which is to be held on June 25 and 26 in Manama for the unveiling of the economic component of a US Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has been drafting the long-awaited plan, but it has been rejected in advance by the Palestinians, who expect the proposals to heavily favor Israel.
Haniyeh, whose Islamist organization rules Gaza, appeals during a rare briefing with international journalists to Bahrain’s King Hamad “not to hold this workshop,” vowing protests “in all the Palestinian lands and beyond.”
— AFP
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a meeting with foreign reporters in Gaza City on June 20, 2019 (Mohammed Abed/AFP)
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