Jared jab at Abbas
Will spill peace plan if he won’t rejoin talks
White House adviser Jared Kushner used a rare interview with a Palestinian newspaper to slam Palestinian National Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Kushner told the daily Al Quds that the U.S. peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be made public “soon” if Abbas does not play ball with the Trump administration.
“If President Abbas is willing to come back to the table, we are ready to engage. If he is not, we will likely air the plan publicly,” he said, according to a translation published Sunday.
Kushner told Al Quds that Abbas' talking points “have not changed in the last 25 years.”
“Both sides will have to take a leap and meet somewhere between their stated positions. I am not sure President Abbas has the ability to do that,” Kushner said.
He added that the U.S. peace plan, which includes economic development proposals, could be released to attempt to get support from Palestinians rather than their leadership.
Kushner went to Israel with Middle East negotiator Jason Greenblatt during a trip through the region that included meetings with leaders of Jordan, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
In Israel, Kushner visited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Abbas refused to meet with the President's son-in-law, who has no diplomatic experience.
Palestinians have declined to meet any members of the Trump team since the U.S. moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The embassy move provoked outrage, including a protest on the day of the opening during which dozens of demonstrators were shot and killed by Israeli forces.
Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East warned President Trump that moving the embassy threatened hopes of peace.
The U.S. blocked a United Nations measure that would have condemned it for the embassy move. But the UN General Assembly in June passed a measure condemning Israel's killing of Palestinian protesters.