Almost a month after President Donald Trump's maiden trip to the Middle East as the USA commander-in-chief, Jared Kushner, Trump's senior adviser, will travel to the region this week to try reach a peace deal between Israel and Palestinian people, a report said Sunday citing a White House official.
Kushner will arrive Wednesday, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, and then going to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The visit comes a month after Trump's maiden trip to the region, during which he met with Israeli and Palestinian officials and committed to working to bring both sides together in a lasting peace agreement.
The White House's special representative for global negotiations, Jason Greenblatt, is set to arrive in the Middle East ahead of Kushner, according to the official.
A senior Israeli official said Thursday that contrary to media reports, the Palestinians have not officially relinquished their demand for a complete moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank prior to the resumption of the peace process. It serves as a follow-up to the president's visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in May, when he called on Israelis and Palestinians to pursue a peace deal.
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The trip was first reported in the Wall Street Journal and sourced to a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity. Also the investigation into Kushner's business deals has not stopped Trump from deploying his son-in-law as his representative overseas. "It's not easy. America stands ready to assist in every way we can".
Further reports stated Kushner and Greenblatt are expected to lay down their plans for the peace agreement with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders and their senior advisers. "He strongly believes that peace is possible", the official said.
In 2002, Saudi Arabia proposed allowing for a general recognition of Israel in return for a peace deal with the Palestinians and a withdrawal from the occupied territories. Trump made a decision to delay fulfilling a campaign promise to move the US embassy to Jerusalem in an attempt to advance the prospects of a peace agreement, the White House said earlier this month.
"No one should consider this step to be in any way a retreat from the president's strong support for Israel and for the United States-Israel alliance", the White House said.
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