Kushner criticizes Abbas
The New York Times
JERUSALEM — Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser on the Middle East, said Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas was afraid to make peace with Israel, bore responsibility for the deteriorating situation in Gaza, and was prioritizing his political survival over his people.
Mr. Kushner, on a trip to the Middle East, made his comments in an interview published early Sunday by Palestinian newspaper AlQuds. He said the Trump administration was “almost done” preparing its peace plan.
He appeared to be attempting to goad Mr. Abbas into talks the leader has vowed to boycott, while doing considerable pre-emptive damage control in case Mr. Abbas does not relent.
But Mr. Kushner offered little in the way of enticements to Mr. Abbas. Asked what the leaders of other Arab nations wanted to see in an Israel-Palestinian settlement, Mr. Kushner did not mention refugees or a sovereign Palestinian state.
He instead spoke of a potential Palestinian capital “in East Jerusalem.”
Mr. Kushner alluded to Arab nations’ desire that Al-Aqsa Mosque “remain open to all Muslims who wish to worship” — but said nothing about its being in the custodianship of a Palestinian state, suggesting it could remain under Israeli control in the plan.
Mr. Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, had angrily rejected U.S.led negotiations after Mr. Trump reversed decades of U.S. policy in December by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Since then, Mr. Trump has cut aid for Palestinian refugees and moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
Mr. Kushner’s interview, published on the website of Al-Quds after Mr. Kushner met twice over two days in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, was replete with criticism of Mr. Abbas, the aging, unhealthy and highly unpopular Palestinian leader. A translation of the interview was released by the White House.
Asked by the newspaper’s editor, Walid AbuZalaf, about an Abbas spokesman’s dismissal of Mr. Kushner’s trip as a “waste of time” that was “bound to fail,” Mr. Kushner said he believed Palestinian leaders were “saying those things because they are scared we will release our peace plan and the Palestinian people will actually like it.”
Mr. Kushner questioned Mr. Abbas’ flexibility and capacity to make peace, and said the “global community” was frustrated with Mr. Abbas. “He has his talking points, which have not changed in the last 25 years,” Mr. Kushner said. He added: “To make a deal, 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.”
Mr. Abbas has raged at the Trump administration, Mr. Kushner observed, but he questioned whose interests that served.
“There are a lot of sharp statements and condemnations, but no ideas or efforts with prospects of success,” Mr. Kushner said. “Those who are more skeptical say President Abbas is only focused on his political survival and cementing a legacy of not having compromised, than on bettering the lives of the Palestinian people.”
Mr. Abbas was elected for the first and only time in 2005 to a four-year term, and recent polls show a majority of Palestinians believe he should resign. Mr. Kushner alluded to this unpopularity, saying: “I don’t think the Palestinian people feel like their lives are getting better, and there is only so long you can blame that on everyone other than Palestinian leadership.”
Mr. Kushner said the Trump administration was determined to find solutions to the “core issues” of the conflict — including Jerusalem, borders and refugees — “that both sides can live with.”
Dennis Ross, a veteran Middle East peace negotiator, said Mr. Kushner’s conjuring of an economic leap forward for Palestinians could be “appealing,” but he warned that leaders of neighboring Arab countries would require a political compromise between Israel and the Palestinians to be able to support a U.S.-led deal.
“There is a challenge to Abu Mazen here,” Mr. Ross added, referring to Mr. Abbas and the overall tone of Mr. Kushner’s remarks. “But the door is open to him, as well.”
Mr. Kushner did not mention Mr. Netanyahu or offer any criticism of the Israeli side. Mr. Abbas and his advisers have complained that the Trump administration has essentially taken Israel’s side and forfeited its credibility as a mediator.
Indeed, Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians’ chief negotiator, said Mr. Kushner’s description of the U.S. plan could have been drafted by the Israeli government. Mr. Erekat said in an interview, “That is verbatim what we heard from Netanyahu.”
Mr. Erekat said he had repeatedly asked Mr. Kushner to facilitate direct talks between the Palestinians and Israelis, but Mr. Kushner rebuffed him.
“They want to dictate a solution, not negotiate it,” Mr. Erekat said.