Gazans strike in protest of US-led Bahrain meeting

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip staged a general strike on Tuesday in protest of a U.S.-led conference in Bahrain.

U.S. officials are expected to unveil the economic portion of its back-channel Middle East peace plan known as “deal of the century” during the two-day conference, which is due to open in the Bahraini capital, Manama, on Tuesday.

Last week, the White House called for $50 billion in investment for Palestine and neighboring Arab states as part of the plan, which calls for increased infrastructure projects between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with a stated goal to "empower" the Palestinian people.

Commercial shops as well as government and private institutions in Gaza shut their doors in line with the strike, called by Palestinian resistance factions.

"We are participating in the strike to reiterate our rejection of the 'Black Manama' conference," Yousef Al-Razi, 30, told Anadolu Agency.

"We reject any Arab participation because it contributes to the destruction of the [Palestinian] cause," he said.

The "deal of the century" has yet to be revealed in full, however, based on leaks in the media, it envisages to make major concessions to Israel regarding the status of Jerusalem city and also regarding right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East dispute, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might one day serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority said they will not be attending the conference in Bahrain and have rejected any U.S. role in the mediating process ever since U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017.

Writing by Mahmoud Barakat