Europe protests ‘deal of the century’

Protesters gathered in various European cities on Tuesday to demonstrate against the “Peace to Prosperity” conference taking place in Bahraini capital Manama.

Protests took place in Brussels, Berlin, Copenhagen, Milan, Gothenburg, Athens, London and The Hague, with most gathering outside the cities’ US embassies. Participants carried posters and banners saying “Palestine is not for sale”.

The protests – organised by local activists – were held in response to this week’s workshop to unveil the economic portion of the US Administration’s “peace plan” for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, dubbed the “deal of the century”.

The conference was attended by representatives from the US, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the IMF and other international organisations, but the Palestinians boycotted the conference and the Israelis were not invited.

The US unveiled its $50 billion plan to revive the Palestinian economy, to be split among the occupied Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. The funds will be raised through an investment fund managed by a Multilateral Development Bank, but there are severe doubts as to whether donor governments will be willing to make contributions when the political differences at the heart of the long-standing Palestinian-Israeli conflict have yet to be resolved.

READ: The shameful ‘deal of the century’