HAMAS warned Arab nations against attending a US-backed “peace” conference in Bahrain today, saying it would “normalise” the Israeli occupation.

US President Donald Trump’s administration announced the two-day Peace to Prosperity “workshop” on Sunday, claiming that it would “encourage investing capital in the West Bank, Gaza, and the region.”

The workshop, set for June 25-26, is the first phase of the US-backed “deal of the century” peace plan for Israel and Palestine.

Discussions on Palestinian statehood, the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, and other “political issues” will be avoided, and foreign ministers will not be invited to take part in the conference.

“We warn Arab states against the malicious activities aimed to pave the way for normalisation with the Israeli occupation and involvement in the deal of the century,” a Hamas statement said.

The group said the deal adopts Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vision to achieve so-called “economic peace.”

The deal also contradicts the position of the Arab League and the unified Palestinian stance.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said his government wasn’t consulted about the “workshop.”

He rejected the conference by saying: “We do not submit to blackmail and we don’t trade our political rights for money.”

Multiple Palestinian business owners have already refused to take part in the conference, which will be held in the Bahraini capital Manama.

Mr Shtayyeh said during yesterday’s weekly cabinet session that “resolving the conflict in Palestine will only be achieved through a political solution.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said the plan is “futile,” as any economic plan “without political horizons will lead nowhere.”