Deal of the Century? No Israelis or Palestinians attending Trump's Bahrain peace conference

A White House official said on Tuesday that Israeli representatives have not been invited to the Trump administration's Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in Bahrain next week.

The official said Monday that the meeting is to focus on the administration's "economic vision" for the Palestinians and will not focus on "political issues".

The administration official was not authorised to discuss the matter on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The announcement means that neither Israelis nor Palestinians will be attending a conference meant to shape their future.

Read more: Kushner says Palestinians not ready to govern themselves

The Palestinians, accusing the US of bias favouring Israel, have rejected the Trump administration's peace plan out of hand and have urged Arab countries to boycott the meeting.

Last week the White House said Jordan, Egypt and Morocco would be attending the workshop in Manama.

Since coming to office, US President Donald Trump has recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved its embassy to the contested city.

The US has also cut hundreds of millions in funding for UNRWA, the United Nations organisation for Palestinian refugees, and hospitals in East Jerusalem.

Earlier this month, Trump's son-in-law and senior Middle East envoy Jared Kushner said that Palestinians were not ready for self-government and could expect continued military and political intervention from Israel.

His comments were widely disparaged on social media and by Palestinian officials.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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