Egypt muzzles media on US peace plan
Egypt's security services issued strict instructions to Egyptian newspapers not to publish any views contrary to the government's official line on the US-proposed Palestian-Israeli peace deal.
CAIRO — An Egyptian government source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Egyptian authorities have banned the publication of any unofficial information about the United States' so-called “deal of the century,” particularly about the June “Peace to Prosperity” economic meeting held in Manama in partnership with Washington.
The Bahrain meeting was boycotted by all of the Palestinian political parties. A group of Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco attended along with the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and some of the region's top businessmen.
Reuters detailed the key points of the economic plan presented at the Bahrain summit following a June 22 interview with Jared Kushner, who heads the initiative. Reuters reported, “Donor nations and investors would contribute about $50 billion, with $28 billion going to the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza, $7.5 billion to Jordan, $9 billion to Egypt and $6 billion for Lebanon.”
“The Bahrain Economic Workshop is an attempt to replace the principle of land for peace with the principle of money for peace,” said PLO Executive Committee Secretary Saeb Erekat in a June 18 statement. “We did not authorize anyone to speak on our behalf.”
