JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinians are giving a cool reception to an American plan to hold a conference next month to unveil the first phase of its Mideast peace plan.

The White House announced Sunday that it will hold the gathering in Bahrain to discuss large-scale investment in the Palestinian territories. It said the conference will not address the contentious political aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as final borders, and the status of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, says "any plan without a political horizon will not lead to peace."

The Palestinians severed ties with the White House after President Donald Trump recognized contested Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017. The U.S. has responded by cutting hundreds of millions of dollars of aid.