Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are putting Bahrain in the firing line. They are pushing Bahrain to do the dirty work that they don't want to be responsible for. They don't want to get their hands dirty when it comes to the economic conference to be held in Bahrain, dubbed the "Deal of Century" which Palestinians have rejected and called for boycotting.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said Palestine will not attend the economic conference in Bahrain. "We reiterate that we did not mandate anyone to negotiate on our behalf. Those concerned and want to serve the interest of the Palestinian people should respect this collective position."

Despite this clear call, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the first two states to announce their participation in the event.

With Palestine's announcement boycotting the conference, experts do not think that the Bahrain "economic workshop" could produce anything good to address the Palestinian conflict except galvanizing regional cooperation among Israel's Arab allies.

In fact, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain do not want to solve the Palestinian cause as much as they want to normalize their relations with Israel. According to US officials, there will be no debate on key political issues to resolve the conflict, nonetheless, the meeting will focus on the economic side.

The Jerusalem Post newspaper says the economic workshop in Bahrain comes to bring countries and businessmen from around the world to invest in the peace deal.  The Israeli newspaper noted that "the apparent aim is to use this money - the goal is a reported $68 billion - to convince the Palestinians and other countries in the region that it is worth making compromises for peace, because those compromises will lead to a fundamental improvement in economies throughout the region."

We can wonder here, how a country threatened by bankruptcy can host a workshop for donors. Such workshops are usually hosted by rich countries that can provide huge financial support for the issues they sponsor.

If we avoid the economic part, what is Bahrain's relationship as a small country in the Gulf with the Middle East peace process? Why do not Jordan, Egypt or Saudi Arabia host this event, being one of the conflict parties, noting that Saudi Arabia launched the Arab Peace Initiative at the Beirut Summit in 2002?

In fact, Saudi Arabia and the UAE (the economic sponsors of Bahrain) do not want to get involved in such events, thus, they are pushing Bahrain to do so under the threat of bankruptcy.

Arabic Version