Trump's Middle East plan 'cannot be imposed' on Palestinians, warns Qatar

A solution to end the Middle East conflict between Israel and the Palestinians cannot be imposed on Palestinians, Qatar said on Sunday, pointing to the disconnect between Palestinians and the US over the proposed peace plan. 

The long-awaited peace plan - dubbed the "deal of the century" - will be discussed at a conference in Bahrain later this month.

The peace plan, fronted by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, has already been rejected by Palestinians and some Arab states, who say the White House's policies have been blatantly biased in favour of Israel.

"As far as we see, right now there is a disconnect between the Palestinians and the US," Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told reporters in London.

"Our position remains very firm: We are going to support any plan that the Palestinians are willing to accept."

While the precise outline of the plan is yet to be revealed, it is likely to reject a Palestinian statehood after Kushner expressed uncertainty over the Palestinians' "ability to govern themselves" in an interview broadcast last week.

Qatar slammed any plan that may be "imposed" on one party.

"It cannot be a solution like, sort of, imposed on the Palestinians - no country in the Arab world can accept that," Sheikh Mohammed said.

"If the plan is rejected by one of the parties it means the plan is either unfair or just not realistic," he said.

"The best scenario is either that both parties accept it or that both parties reject it."

US allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE are set to attend the Bahrain conference on June 25-26, but the Palestinians are boycotting it and have encouraged other Arab states to stay away.

The Palestinians are seeking an independent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians have cut off all contacts with the Trump administration since the president broke with decades of bipartisan policy to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017.

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