US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and chief Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner, on Wednesday arrived in Jerusalem for a day-long visit aimed at restarting long-dormant peace talks between Israel and Palestine.
Trump has tasked Kushner with the ambitious goal of laying the groundwork for what he calls the “ultimate deal” — but deep divisions remain, clouding chances of a significant breakthrough in one of the longest Middle East crises.
Kushner first met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer and US envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt, at Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem.
A video released by Netanyahu’s office showed him embracing Kushner and saying: “This is an opportunity to pursue our common goals of security, prosperity and peace.”
Kushner was also to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
This month marked the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War — a seminal event in which Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians claim these territories for their future independent state.
After two decades of failed US-led peace efforts, Palestinian statehood seems distant.
Greenblatt has already made several visits.
Even before his meetings, Kushner faced a new crisis.
On the eve of his arrival, Israel broke ground on a new West Bank settlement for residents of an illegally built outpost that was dismantled in February under orders from the Israeli Supreme Court.
Netanyahu had vowed to compensate the residents of Amona with a new settlement, built on a nearby site in the northern West Bank.
“The people of Amona really appreciate his efforts and the efforts from his office in fulfilling this commitment that started to come alive to create this new community,” said Avichai Boaron, a spokesman for the settlers.
The move has infuriated the Palestinians, who say all settlements are illegal obstacles to peace.
Trump has asked Israel to show “restraint” in its settlement construction.
“This is the way Netanyahu is meeting Trump’s envoys,” Palestinian official Mustafa Barghouti said. “The real question here is will the administration of Trump tell Israel that it is enough and they have to stop immediately all settlement activities, or they will accept this Israeli provocation?”
Kushner did not speak to reporters ahead of his talks and Israeli security agents blocked cameramen from filming his convoy.
In one case, a cameraman was ordered to leave a sidewalk outside the government compound that houses Netanyahu’s office and in other case, a cameraman was ordered to delete his memory card of all images of the Israeli prime minister’s office.
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