Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner Meets with Benjamin Netanyahu on Middle East Tour
- Updated Aug 02, 2019
Senior White House advisor Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met this week in Jerusalem as part of Kushner’s Middle East tour.
Kushner is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
The U.S. Envoy also included Jason Greenblatt, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, and Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer.
The delegation is working in the Middle East to finalize details of a $50 billion economic development plan for Palestinians and other parts of the Middle East. According to The Washington Post, Kushner will “report back” to Trump “to discuss the many potential next steps.”
It’s unclear what exactly Kushner and Netanyahu discussed at their meeting. Netanyahu would only say the meeting was “important.”
The U.S. Envoy will also be visiting Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Kushner will not be meeting with Palestinian representatives.
The Trump Administration has yet to release the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, but Ambassador Friedman told CNN that the U.S. is “not ready to talk about a Palestinian state.”
"We believe in Palestinian autonomy, we believe in Palestinian self-governance. We believe that autonomy should be extended up until the point where it interferes with Israeli security," he added.
Greenblatt and Hook said in a co-authored opinion piece for Fox News that Iran wants the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to continue.
"The Iranian regime is the core irritant that poses a direct threat to both regional and international security. The continuation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict benefits the Iranian regime's expansionist ambitions. Terrorism and malevolent voyeurism are Iran's foreign policy – dangerous follies that require the region's full attention," Greenblatt and Hook wrote.
"A successful comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is among the important tools we have to help bring regional stability and prevent Iranian terror. it would be Iran's worst nightmare," they continued.
Photo courtesy: Getty Images/GPO Handout, this photo is from 2017.
