US Mideast policies irresponsible, official says

APalestinian official has accused the US administration of pursuing “irresponsible” policies after President Donald Trump’s Mideast adviser defended punitive measures against the Palestinians.

The adviser, Trump sonin-law Jared Kushner, told The New York Times last week that he believes aid cuts and the closure of the PLO mission in Washington stripped away “false realities” in the Middle East and did not harm chances of advancing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas halted contacts with the Trump administration in December, after the US recognised occupied Jerusalem as Israeli regime’s capital.

Kushner did not explain how he could promote a peace deal without Palestinian participation.

Abbas spokesman Nabeel Abu Rudainah said Friday that Kushner’s statement indicates he is “unaware of the reality of the conflict,” including the history of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation soldiers killed three Palestinians, one of them an 11-year-old boy, and wounded at least 248 others taking part on Friday in weekly protests at the fortified Gaza Strip border, Palestinian medical officials said.