The West Bank’s economic crisis and the expansion of Israel’s settlements are connected. Here’s how.

Jared Kushner’s ‘Peace to Prosperity’ economic plan mirrors those that have been presented from the Oslo period onwards. So why is Palestinian leadership so resistant to, and outraged by, this particular plan? David Joseph Deutch says it is because “one avenue claimed to lead to liberation, while lining the pockets of a PNA connected elite. The other promises perpetual occupation, with peace dividends for international investors.”

The absurdity of the Trump economic plan is that it tries to fix the Palestinian economy while completely ignoring the primary reason the Palestinian economy is failing — the occupation.

At the end of June the Trump administration will unveil an economic package to bolster its peace plan for the Israelis and Palestinians at a conference in Bahrain. Nur Arafeh writes, “The economic workshop in Bahrain is thus another U.S. attempt to manage the political situation, rather than resolve it, and pacify Palestinians by offering them economic incentives to distract them from political issues.”