Kushner tapped for talks in Israel

Mideast peace again U.S.’ goal

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump is dispatching a team led by his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, to Israel in pursuit of a Middle East peace deal.

Trump's sending the delegation to try to take advantage of a period of relative calm after violent clashes last month over Israeli security arrangements at the Jerusalem shrine known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, said a senior administration official who requested anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

Kushner will be joined on the trip by Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt and deputy national security adviser for strategy Dina Powell. The trip will include meetings with leaders from Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The U.S. president wants to set an ambitious agenda for the talks, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, efforts to combat extremism, and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the official said.

[PRESIDENT TRUMP: Timeline, appointments, executive orders + guide to actions in first 200 days]

Trump has said he is hopeful his son-in-law can help restart a peace process that has made little headway over the past 25 years. He made addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict an early priority, hosting leaders from both sides at the White House during the opening months of his presidency and visiting Israel during his first international trip as president.

During a U.S. visit by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in May, Trump said a peace agreement "is frankly, maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years." He told reporters that negotiators would get a deal done, even while acknowledging that he had heard that "perhaps the toughest deal to make is the deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians."

"Let's see if we can prove them wrong, OK?" Trump said.

But his early forays into diplomacy have also run into some hiccups. He suggested during a state visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February that the U.S. wouldn't necessarily press for a two-state solution, a seeming reversal of long-standing U.S. policy that reflects a key Palestinian demand.

Kushner is a longtime friend of the Israeli prime minister, who is facing a slew of domestic legal troubles. Netanyahu's former chief of staff, Ari Harow, has signed a deal to cooperate with prosecutors there, and police have confirmed they're investigating the prime minister as a suspect in a bribery, fraud, and breach of trust case. Netanyahu has blasted the media and critics over the controversy and accused opponents of attempting a "governmental coup."

The most recent round of U.S.-led talks, brokered by former Secretary of State John Kerry, broke down three years ago amid mutual recriminations.

A Section on 08/15/2017

Upcoming Events