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."