Trump says he will release Mideast peace plan after Israel elections

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would likely wait until after Israel’s Sept. 17 elections to release a peace plan for the region that was designed by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner.

Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is the main architect of a proposed $50 billion economic development plan for the Palestinians, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon that is designed to create peace in the region.

The first part of Trump’s Middle East peace plan – the economic part – was presented in Manama, Bahrain, in June at the “Peace to Prosperity” workshop.

While dozens of government officials and representatives from around the world took part in the conference – including from Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco – no government representation from Israel or the Palestinian Authority attended.

The Palestinian Authority boycotted the event saying that it was an effort to “bribe” the Palestinians, and Bahrain decided not to invite any Israeli government officials when it became apparent that no PA officials would be on hand.