A recent US report found that the Palestinian Authority took action against Palestinian Arabs who took part in a US-led peace workshop in Bahrain in 2019, i24NEWS reported Thursday. The workshop, titled Peace to Prosperity , was part of former President Donald Trump's plan on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 2020 Country Report on Human Rights, released by the State Department on Tuesday, includes references to reports that "Palestinian security forces arrested, intimidated, and tortured Palestinians following their participation in an international conference in Bahrain." Some of the Palestinian Arabs who attended the conference "reported direct and indirect threats of violence from Fatah, members of Fatah’s Tanzim [militia], Hamas, and other groups, some with possible ties to the PA," the report adds. The PA boycotted the economic conference in Bahrain, calling it a meaningless meeting that was part of a meaningless plan. In fact, the PA had been boycotting the US ever since Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December of 2017 and his relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem. Recently, however, ties between the US and the PA have warmed after President Joe Biden took office. A recently released document reveals that the Biden administration is crafting a plan aimed at “resetting” US ties with the PA. Last week, the administration announced that it was giving $15 million to vulnerable Palestinian Arab communities to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, The Associated Press reported that the Biden administration last week notified Congress , without a public announcement, that it will give the PA $75 million for economic support, to be used in part to regain their “trust and goodwill” after the Trump-era cuts.
