In response to the White House releasing its “Peace to Prosperity” proposal for Palestinian economic development, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami issued the following statement:

“Even an ambitious vision of much-needed economic development cannot substitute for a political agreement that will finally resolve the core issues driving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

No amount of promised investment will convince the Palestinian people to surrender their legitimate aspirations to civil rights, equality and self-determination in an independent state of their own.

No showpiece economic conference can make up for the hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance that this White House has already cruelly cut. It takes real ‘chutzpah’ for this administration to roll out an investment plan for Palestinians with photos of USAID programs that they themselves have recently cut.

By continually alienating the Palestinians and embracing the far-right agenda of the Israeli settlement movement, the Trump administration has made clear that they’re not seriously interested in ending the occupation or achieving lasting peace. The course they’re pursuing undermines US interests and further imperils Israel’s future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people.”