The economic conference set to open June 25 in Bahrain is supposed to deal with the economic ramifications of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The only problem is no Israeli or Palestinian representative will attend. The Palestinian Authority (PA) is angrily boycotting the event and, at the last minute, Israel was pushed outside. The dramatic, festive launching of the United States' “deal of the century” was downgraded at the last minute.
The nadir was reached when the White House announced June 17 Israel would not be formally represented at the conference; even the name of the conference was changed to the “Economic Workshop.” The reason for the change, according to official American sources, is because they want to focus on business and not inject politics. Unofficially, however, this is additional proof that while Donald Trump and his administration understand business, they remain neophytes when it comes to Middle East politics.
