U.S. Officials Meet With Israeli, Palestinian Leaders in Bid to Revive Talks Benjamin Netanyahu’s office calls meeting ‘constructive and substantive,’ but details are scarce By Rory Jones
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-officials-meet-with-israeli-palestinian-leaders-in-bid-to-revive-talks-1503604500
TEL AVIV—White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and other U.S. officials on Thursday met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on the final leg of a Middle East diplomacy tour, as President Donald Trump attempts to revive dormant peace talks between the adversaries.
Mr. Kushner, who is also the president’s son-in-law, spoke first with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem before sitting down with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
The White House had indicated that it would present a strategy for negotiated peace to both sides Thursday. But details of such a plan weren’t immediately released following the meetings. Mr. Trump has made reaching peace between Israelis and Palestinians a key foreign policy priority, calling it the “ultimate deal.”
A brief statement from Mr. Netanyahu’s office called their meeting “constructive and substantive,” and expressed his appreciation to the Trump administration for its “strong support of Israel.” The Israeli leader looked forward to talking further with U.S. officials in the weeks ahead, it added.
“Things are difficult and complicated,” Mr. Abbas said in a statement released as he met with Mr. Kushner. “But nothing is impossible in the face of good efforts.”
Mr. Kushner was joined on the trip by Jason Greenblatt, the White House’s special representative for international negotiations, and Dina Powell, the deputy national security adviser. The group also met with officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan to discuss the peace process. It was unclear when the delegation would leave Israel.
Mr. Trump’s attempts to advance peace talks are unlikely to yield progress in the short term, according to Western diplomats and analysts.
Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition government is reluctant to agree to enter negotiations for a Palestinian state that right-wing hawks believe will risk Israel’s security.
Palestinian officials, meanwhile, aren’t willing to enter peace talks that don’t entertain the notion of statehood.
“There are likely to be a lot of ups and downs on the way to peace and making a peace deal will take time,” a White House official said ahead of Thursday’s meetings.
Mr. Trump has shifted from the long-held U.S. policy of supporting a two-state solution to the conflict, saying he would instead support a solution on which both Israelis and Palestinians agree. CONTINUE AT SITE
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