Thread by @gregg_mashberg

Palestinian rejection of the Kushner economic devlp plan is not another example of "never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity."

To the Palestinian leadership, economic development is not and never has been an "opportunity,"

Let's go to the @nytimes archive: 1/8

4/9/59: UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold proposed a massive international development project to integrate Arab (Palestinian) refuges into their host countries. (Note, of course, this is while Arabs and Palestinians were free to create a WB state.) 2/8

UN proposed $1.5-$2 billion (approx. $13-$17 b in today's dollars) over 5 years to "make productive jobs for the 1,000,000 refugees in Arab lands." It was not to be. 3/8

The Arab League, supported by the Palestinian refugee leaders, opposed the UN plan. They not only rejected economic development, they demanded that UNRWA "drop all of its resettlement operations and become exclusively a relief agency." 4/8

@NYtimes reported exactly why the Arab and Palestinian leadership said no: 5/8

"Their objection to proposals for economic development for refugees is that such development would make permanent the refugees' present homes. The Arabs feel this would prejudice refugees' claims to their old homes." 6/8

Sixty years and 4 million more "refugees "later, the leadership is still refusing economic development (as opposed to mere "relief" money). Economic development would give people hope for the future and that is anathema to keeping 1948 alive. 7/8

With great respect to Abba Eban, we must force ourselves to understand that our concept of "opportunity" has little if anything to do with how the Palestinian leadership views "opportunity." This disconnect is why US and Western diplomacy has failed for 70 years. END