Jared’s peace push with Bibi
President Trump’s son-inlaw and adviser, Jared Kushner, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday (pictured), part of the latest US effort to find peace in the Middle East.
Kushner, 36, a real-estate developer with scant experience at international diplomacy, was expected to meet later in Ramallah in the West Bank for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
He arrived in Israel on Wednesday morning and was scheduled to leave shortly after midnight — spending barely 20 hours on the ground.
Video showed him shaking hands with and hugging Netanyahu before they met with the Israeli ambassador to Washington, the US ambassador to Israel and other top officials.
“This is an opportunity to pursue our common goals of security, prosperity and peace,” Netanyahu said.
“Jared, I welcome you here in that spirit. I know of your efforts, the president’s efforts, and I look forward to working with you to achieve these common goals.”
Kushner replied, “The president sends his best regards, and it’s an honor to be here with you.”
Israeli and US officials provided no information on what was discussed, and there were no plans for Kushner to speak to the media, maintaining the low profile he has established since Trump took office.
But the State Department on
Tuesday said that building settlements in occupied territory was not “helpful” to Trump’s goal of forging a lasting peace.
The same day the State Department panned the settlements, Israel broke ground on the first new one in the West Bank in 25 years.
US officials are calling Kushner’s trip part of an effort to keep the conversation going rather than the launching of a new phase in the peace process.
Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, the president’s special representative for international negotiations, are likely to return often, they said.
Greenblatt arrived in Israel on Monday for preparatory talks in both Jerusalem and Ramallah and will remain for follow-up discussions, officials said. Trump has described peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians as “the ultimate deal” and has called it a priority since taking office.
For at least two decades, the goal of US-led diplomacy has been a “two-state solution,” meaning an independent Palestinian state living side-by-side and at peace with Israel.
But when Trump met Netanyahu in DC in February, he said he was not fixed on two states saying, “I’m looking at twostate and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like.”