Kushner Meets Abbas: Trump Remains Optimistic About Peace

Jared Kushner, the senior advisor to the U.S. President, who has traveled to the region to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, states that Donald Trump remains "committed and optimistic" about achieving peace. According to Reuters, Mr. Kushner made these remarks on Thursday evening, September 2, during a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, in Ramallah. Mr. Kushner also emphasized that the U.S. President hopes that the realization of a "final peace" will ensure "a better future so that the Palestinian and Israeli peoples can live better lives together for years to come." Additionally, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Mahmoud Abbas told Jared Kushner that the Palestinians "will cooperate with the American delegation to implement the peace agreement desired by Donald Trump as soon as possible." According to Mr. Abbas, "The issues are complex and the path is difficult, but when there is goodwill, peace is not impossible, and nothing is unattainable." Mahmoud Abbas also stated that the Palestinians "appreciate the efforts of the U.S. President, who from the very first meetings in Washington, Riyadh, and Bethlehem has repeatedly stated he will strive for a historic peace agreement." Mr. Abbas referred to his recent meetings with the U.S. President at the White House, the Arab leaders' summit in Saudi Arabia, and during Donald Trump's visit to the West Bank in May. Following Trump's spring visit to Israel and the West Bank, he tasked his 36-year-old son-in-law Jared Kushner with reviving the peace process. The White House previously stated that the recent calm is an "opportunity" to resume peace efforts. The White House's reference is to the recent crisis in relations between Israel and the Palestinians over security measures at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which resulted in casualties on both sides. However, according to Reuters, despite Jared Kushner's encouraging words during the meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, the American delegation did not have a concrete plan to present. The Los Angeles Times had previously reported that Mr. Kushner's third round trip between Israel and the Palestinians was merely to "gauge the pulse" of both sides, and Washington did not have high expectations for it. On the other hand, at the end of the Mahmoud Abbas-Jared Kushner meeting in Ramallah, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the Palestinian Authority presidency, told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that "the discussions were constructive, deep, and positive, and all issues of interest to both sides (Palestinian and American) were discussed and agreed upon, and dialogue to achieve comprehensive and historic peace will continue." According to Abu Rudeineh, Mahmoud Abbas emphasized the Palestinian positions, "especially the existence of two states based on the 1967 borders, the cessation of Israeli construction in the West Bank, the implementation of international resolutions, and the Arab peace initiative." Mr. Kushner, accompanied by Jason Greenblatt, the U.S. special representative for Middle East negotiations, and Dina Powell, deputy national security advisor, had met with the Israeli Prime Minister in Jerusalem just hours before meeting with the Palestinian Authority President. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu told Kushner that "peace is more attainable than ever," but he did not address Palestinian requests regarding the cessation of construction in settlements in the occupied territories or the establishment of an "independent Palestinian state." On Thursday, Mr. Kushner and his accompanying delegation traveled the 20-minute ground route between Jerusalem and Ramallah while hundreds of Palestinians gathered in front of Mahmoud Abbas's office, chanting against the U.S. government, Donald Trump, and Jared Kushner. While Mahmoud Abbas, as the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the leadership of the Fatah movement, conducts political negotiations with the U.S., several members and supporters of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority were among the demonstrators in Ramallah. The protesters accused the U.S. government of "one-sided support" for Israel and held caricatures of Jared Kushner as a dog. This meeting between Mahmoud Abbas and several other senior Palestinian officials with Jared Kushner occurred while American and Israeli media reported that their previous meeting had ended in a heated verbal dispute over the Palestinian Authority's financial support for the families of Palestinian attackers. In recent days, Mr. Abbas had threatened that he was disillusioned with the lack of a peace process and considers the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority and all its institutions as an option.