Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Officials defend Mideast peace plan
Trump likely to offer details before meeting
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he would likely release his long-awaited Mideast peace plan a little before he meets Tuesday with Israeli officials, but Trump’s opponents are doubting the viability of any plan because of a lack of input from the Palestinians, who have rejected it before its release.
“It’s entirely about politics,” Michael Koplow, policy director of the Israel Policy Forum, said about Tuesday’s meeting. “You simply can’t have a serious discussion about an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan and only invite one side to come talk about it.”
Jared Kushner, a Trump adviser and the president’s son-in-law, has been the architect for the plan for nearly three years. He’s tried to persuade academics, lawmakers, former Mideast negotiators, Arab governments and special interest groups not to reject his fresh approach outright.
People familiar with the administration’s thinking believe the release will have benefits even if the plan ultimately fails. According to these people, the peace team believes that if Israeli officials are open to the plan and Arab nations do not outright reject it, the proposal could help improve broader Israeli-Arab relations.
Trump, for his part, told reporters on Air Force One this week, “It’s a plan that really would work.”
Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, said in a statement that Trump “has shown himself to be the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history, and I fully expect his peace proposal will be in line with that tradition.”
Asked on Friday what he thought about the expected rollout, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said: “I’m on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and we’ve not heard anything about it.”
However, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the committee chairman, defended the administration’s work on a plan.
“I think the people who are working on this are working on this in good faith,” Risch said.