Kushner: Trump wants ‘peace and prosperity’ for Israelis, Palestinians

White House adviser Jared Kushner spoke Sunday about the Trump administration's peace efforts in the Middle East. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

Dec. 4 (UPI) — White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has said President Donald Trump wants to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a key to stability in the region.

Kushner spoke in Washington, D.C., Sunday about the Trump administration’s Mideast peace efforts, and said Israel needs a deal with Palestinians before it can align with the rest of the Arab world.

“We have an open and honest dialogue with both sides, our conversations have opened up a lot. I think there are a lot of instances of great trust between Israelis and Palestinians, but not along the leadership,” Kushner said at the Saban Forum. “I’ve seen a lot of cases of Israelis and Palestinians working together and having great relationships.”

The adviser and husband of first daughter Ivanka said the United States wants to help “find a solution that comes from the region not to impose.”

“I think that if we’re going to try to create more stability in the region as a whole, then you have to solve this issue,” Kushner said.

“As this process has gone through, our team has tried very hard to do a lot of listening — not just with Israelis, with Palestinians. It understands what their views and red lines are. We’ve done the same with different countries in the region.”

Kushner also said Trump has not yet made up his mind on whether to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, or recognizing the latter as Israel’s capital.

Sunday’s appearance by Kushner comes amid his role in a federal investigation examining potential Russian interference in last year’s U.S. presidential election. Kushner was found to have numerous contacts with Moscow and meetings with Russian intermediaries — which are now under scrutiny by investigators for Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

After Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to investigators, Kushner is expected by some to face greater scrutiny.

“Mike Flynn wasn’t acting as a free agent. He was acting at the behest of very senior people close to the president or the president himself,” Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said.

“If Mr. Kushner was involved in that, he’d have a lot to tell us that he hasn’t told us so far.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here