Bahrain Mirror: In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh criticized Washington's decision to convene an economic conference on the Palestinian issue next month in Bahrain.

He said Trump is "waging a financial war against the Palestinians" and argued there could be no economic progress without a political solution.

Shtayyeh declined to say whether Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have agreed to attend the US-led conference, were betraying the Palestinians, saying he understood they were under US pressure.

While Trump has not yet announced a peace plan, decisions by the US administration in recent months already indicate that a Trump proposal would not meet Palestinian demands, he said. Shtayyeh noted that Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has had some promising talks with Trump but that the outcome was a "disaster".

Shtayyeh urged Europe to give more financial support to the Palestinians and urged France to recognize Palestine as a state. He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could "never" be a partner for peace and said he was ready to go to Gaza "tomorrow" to seal a reconciliation deal with Hamas.

Arabic Version