Palestinians reject invitation to attend U.S. Mideast meeting in Poland
WASHINGTON - Palestinian officials have been invited to a U.S. conference on the Middle East hosted by Poland next week, a senior U.S. official said on Friday, but top Palestinian officials said they would not attend.
The senior administration official told reporters White House senior adviser Jared Kushner would discuss plans for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis at the event.
"As noted we have asked the Palestinian Authority to send representatives to this event," the U.S. official said.
Kushner, who is U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, "will discuss the administration's efforts to advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians and also take questions from the audience," the official said.
"We would very much welcome the Palestinian Authority's perspectives during the discussion, but I do want to emphasize this is not a negotiation but a discussion, and we look forward to fostering a constructive conversation in Warsaw," he added.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat quickly rejected the invitation, writing on Twitter: "Regarding statements that we have been invited, we can say that only today there was some contact from the Polish side.
"Our position remains clear: We are not going to attend this conference and reiterate that we have not mandated anyone to talk on behalf of Palestine."
