Trump adviser Kushner criticises Abbas, says U.S. peace plan near

webfact · June 25, 2018

Trump adviser Kushner criticises Abbas, says U.S. peace plan near

By Stephen Farrell

Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner sits before the start of an Iftar dinner at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 6, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/Files

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser, said Washington would announce its Middle East peace plan soon, and press on with or without Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

The comments underlined gaping divisions between Washington and the Palestinian leadership that have widened since Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December and moved the U.S. Embassy there, overriding decades of U.S. policy.

Palestinian officials, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, accused Kushner of trying to undermine Abbas and what they described as their leader's moderate camp.

Kushner - Trump's son-in-law who is meeting leaders in the region, but not Abbas - told Palestinian newspaper Al Quds in an interview published in Arabic on Sunday, that he doubted whether the Palestinian president was willing or able to seal a deal.

"If President Abbas is willing to come back to the table, we are ready to engage; if he is not, we will likely air the plan publicly," Kushner said, according to an English transcript of his words provided by Washington.

"However, I do question how much President Abbas has the ability to, or is willing to, lean into finishing a deal. He has his talking points which have not changed in the last 25 years," he added.

Kushner appealed directly to the Palestinian people and portrayed Abbas, 82, as a leader entrenched in the past.

"There have been countless mistakes and missed opportunities over the years, and you, the Palestinian people, have paid the price," said Kushner, who is on the trip with U.S. envoy Jason Greenblatt. "Don’t let your leadership reject a plan they haven’t even seen," he added.

Abbas has refused to see Trump's team since the embassy decision, accusing Washington of pro-Israel bias.

"This (U.S.) administration is really trying to destroy the Palestinian moderate camp. They want to throw us into chaos and anarchy," said Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians' chief negotiator.

"The road to peace is clear - commitment to the two-state solution, a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital. This is the road to any negotiations or any meetings," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Abbas.

SPECIFICS

Kushner visited Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt before talks on Friday and Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Kushner said Arab leaders had told him they wanted to see a Palestinian state, long the foundation of U.S. policy in the region.

Asked if the new U.S. peace plan would accommodate that view, he reiterated that it was up to the Israeli and Palestinian "leadership and people" to determine the shape of a final agreement.

Kushner was given responsibility over Washington's Israel-Palestinian policy, along with other top postings, after his father-in-law was inaugurated one year and five months ago.

Many commentators have questioned the credentials of Kushner and U.S. Middle East emissary Jason Greenblatt - neither had diplomatic experience.

In the interview, Kushner again refused to go into details on his peace plan. "I don't want to speak about specifics of the deal we are working on," Kushner said.

Netanyahu said on Sunday he and the two envoys discussed the diplomatic process and regional issues, with "particular focus on the situation in Gaza", where economic hardship has deepened and violence has surged along the Israeli frontier.

"The question came up of how to solve the humanitarian situation in Gaza without strengthening Hamas," Netanyahu told his cabinet in public remarks, referring to the Islamist militant group that is dominant in the enclave.

"These things are clear - one, how do we maintain security, and two, how to prevent a wider escalation - if this is at all possible," Netanyahu said.

The U.S. plan is expected to propose solutions to core issues in dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians, such as borders, the future of Israeli settlements, the fate of Palestinian refugees and security.

Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 war. Israeli forces and settlers pulled out of the Gaza Strip, now controlled by Abbas's main rival, the Islamist Hamas group, in 2005.

U.S.-brokered peace talks collapsed in 2014.

(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Yara Bayoumy in Washington; Editing by Jeffrey Heller, Keith Weir and Andrew Heavens)

TallGuyJohninBKK · June 25, 2018

I remember reading recently a long article from a Western news source looking at the views of ordinary Palestinians on the whole prospect of "peace talks." And literally to the man and woman, all those ordinary Palestinians interviewed said Trump's decision to in effect recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital had ended any slim chance of a peace deal being brokered that they would accept.

I know some of the other Middle East states want a deal. But AFAICT, at this point and under the circumstances, the Palestinians are having none of it, especially anything emanating from the U.S. and/or Trump. So I suspect this will be another case of the Mr. Art of Making the Deal not being able to make any deal. Kushner and Greenblatt, ya, that's going to go over well...

Srikcir · June 25, 2018

10 hours ago, webfact said:

it was up to the Israeli and Palestinian "leadership and people" to determine the shape of a final agreement.

How shockingly innovative!

A peace plan between two factions that requires an agreement.

Expatthailover · June 25, 2018

Only one thing motivates kushner...money.

He couldnt give 2 hoots if the arabs and israelis killed each other a million times over.

He'll be getting kickbacks from every possible source.

What a shambles the usa is allowing venal bagmen run rampant making decisions on topics they know nothing about

TallGuyJohninBKK · June 25, 2018

Gotta agree with you about that one. As best as I recall, Kushner has a lot of business/economic interests in the Middle East, so hardly surprising.

Elfin · June 25, 2018

I bet Kushner whispers pro-israeli things into Trump's ear every night.

When I drive in the country , lots of insects hit my windscreen and die, leaving greenblatt everywhere!?

Morch · June 25, 2018

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I remember reading recently a long article from a Western news source looking at the views of ordinary Palestinians on the whole prospect of "peace talks." And literally to the man and woman, all those ordinary Palestinians interviewed said Trump's decision to in effect recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital had ended any slim chance of a peace deal being brokered that they would accept.

I know some of the other Middle East states want a deal. But AFAICT, at this point and under the circumstances, the Palestinians are having none of it, especially anything emanating from the U.S. and/or Trump. So I suspect this will be another case of the Mr. Art of Making the Deal not being able to make any deal. Kushner and Greenblatt, ya, that's going to go over well...

It's hard to address such a post without knowing which article is referenced. If you could link or recall details, it would be appreciated.

Ultimately, sustainable agreements in the ME are not necessarily a product of mass popular support or perceptions. Rather, the determining factor seems to be stability of leaderships involved, and the willingness of leaders to act in ways which are not always popular. If it sounds less then ideal, well yeah - but such is life. I doubt that attempting to apply ideal notions of democracy and transparency with regard to such ME endeavors is in the best interests of achieving workable solutions. Too easy for opposing forces to spin, and such traditions being, for the most part, alien to relevant societies.

Not holding out much hope for the current administration shot at this, at least not as far as coming up with a genuine resolution. If they manage to tackle some of the issues it will already be more than expected.

Morch · June 25, 2018

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Gotta agree with you about that one. As best as I recall, Kushner has a lot of business/economic interests in the Middle East, so hardly surprising.

I think his business interests are more related to securing financing for projects in the USA, rather than major investments in the region. Could be wrong. Considering some of his previous attempts at such and connections were outed, he may have to be tread more carefully.

Scott · June 25, 2018

Troll post reported and removed.

Tug · June 25, 2018

They don’t care can sell more weapons can stur up his base screw over the helpless that’s a win win for the Donald

rickudon · June 25, 2018

I suspect Jared's peace deal was crafted in Israel and involves the Palestinians giving up claims to anything Israel already occupies .....

TallGuyJohninBKK · June 25, 2018

6 hours ago, Morch said:

I think his business interests are more related to securing financing for projects in the USA, rather than major investments in the region. Could be wrong. Considering some of his previous attempts at such and connections were outed, he may have to be tread more carefully.

Kusher and the Qatar government re a bailout of his interests in the U.S.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/nyregion/kushner-deal-qatar-666-5th.html

Quote

The company controlled by the family of the White House adviser Jared Kushner is close to receiving a bailout of its troubled flagship building by a company with financial ties to the government of Qatar, according to executives briefed on the deal.

Charles Kushner, head of the Kushner Companies, is in advanced talks with Brookfield Asset Management over a partnership to take control of the 41-story aluminum-clad tower in Midtown Manhattan, 666 Fifth Avenue, according to two real estate executives who have been briefed on the pending deal but were not authorized to discuss it. Brookfield is a publicly traded company, and its real estate arm, Brookfield Property Partners, is partly owned by the Qatari government, through the Qatar Investment Authority.

Charles Kushner and his son Jared, President Trump’s son-in-law and one of his key advisers, bought the office tower, which is between 52nd and 53rd Streets, 11 years ago for a record-setting $1.8 billion. But the building today only generates about half its annual mortgage payment, and 30 percent of the 41-story tower is vacant.

And earlier in this spring...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/mueller-team-asking-if-kushner-foreign-business-ties-influenced-trump-n852681

Morch · June 25, 2018

I think that Abbas & Co. are in panic mode. Despite the Trump administrations' Jerusalem move being condemned all around, actual reactions were rather mild. Moreover, mos relevant parties ignored the PA's call and continue to engage the Trump administration on related issues, effectively sidelining the Palestinians. On the home front (as in vs. Hamas), Abbas's attempts to leverage the Gaza Strip economic and humanitarian crisis for political gains is hugely unpopular among Palestinians, and got little by way of results.

Part of the Trump's administration recent push is aimed at mounting a regional/international effort to tackle conditions in the Gaza Strip. And the way this is formulated, seems to once more, leave the PA on the sidelines.

Abbas & Co. do have a point, in that this Trump administration effort seems to be aimed at bypassing Palestinian leadership and, perhaps, de-facto widening the divide between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, it is hard to see what viable alternatives Abbas & Co. are able to come up with.

Jonmarleesco · June 25, 2018

Son-in-law on the presidential merry-go-round ... and a fu__ing idiot to boot.

Edited June 25, 2018 by Jonmarleesco

pegman · June 25, 2018

4 hours ago, Morch said:

I think that Abbas & Co. are in panic mode. Despite the Trump administrations' Jerusalem move being condemned all around, actual reactions were rather mild. Moreover, mos relevant parties ignored the PA's call and continue to engage the Trump administration on related issues, effectively sidelining the Palestinians. On the home front (as in vs. Hamas), Abbas's attempts to leverage the Gaza Strip economic and humanitarian crisis for political gains is hugely unpopular among Palestinians, and got little by way of results.

Part of the Trump's administration recent push is aimed at mounting a regional/international effort to tackle conditions in the Gaza Strip. And the way this is formulated, seems to once more, leave the PA on the sidelines.

Abbas & Co. do have a point, in that this Trump administration effort seems to be aimed at bypassing Palestinian leadership and, perhaps, de-facto widening the divide between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, it is hard to see what viable alternatives Abbas & Co. are able to come up with.

Huh? Sorry but this is gibberish. Who Internationally, outside of mid-east American client states, are or likely to line up with Trump on this? Fact is Abbas was weak but Trump is making him strong with Palestinians. This is all performance art by Trump's radical Zionist son-in-law and his side kick hoping to influence the Jewish American voter. Much like the apartheid regime in South Africa evolving inspite of the USA same will apply in Palestine.

chubby · June 25, 2018

8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Kusher and the Qatar government re a bailout of his interests in the U.S.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/nyregion/kushner-deal-qatar-666-5th.html

And earlier in this spring...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/mueller-team-asking-if-kushner-foreign-business-ties-influenced-trump-n852681

<deleted> qatari's , trying to save their ass from the Saudi Wahabi Salafist's , also paid off Stormy Daniels for Cohen , what a sad state the Citizen's United verdict has created for Rome

Edited June 25, 2018 by chubby
foo

Morch · June 26, 2018

@pegman

Gibberish would be an apt description of your comment. The same old off-the-cuff collection of irrelevant labels, slogans and references - without much in the way of on topic content.

Labeling countries as client-states doesn't make them less relevant to conflict resolution. And there's no shortage of past instances in which their willingness to engage was questionable. Considering the backdrop of Trump's Jerusalem move, this is all the more striking.

Unless you missed it, Kushner & Co. just finished a tour on which the outline (and possibly details) of the upcoming framework were presented. This included meetings with European, ME and UN leaders. Nobody refused to meet them, no major leaks, not much public display of objections. And to remind - this is after Trump's Jerusalem move, after Trump's many other international confrontations, and the Palestinians (well, Abbas's faction) calls to disregard the US plans.

Parallel to this, there are ongoing efforts to push forward several initiatives aimed at alleviating the economic and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. These too, involve both European and ME countries, and are largely envisaged as bypassing (when possible) both the PA and Hamas.

As for your assertion that "Fact is Abbas was weak but Trump is making him strong with Palestinians" - I have no idea where you got this from. While Palestinians may see the US (and especially the current administration) in a negative light, this doesn't really directly translate into support for Abbas. If anything, current events highlight how ineffectual his stance is. On top of this (and him being unpopular to begin with), his tough position and ongoing actions related to the Hamas and the Gaza Strip crisis aren't helping his support rating much either.

With regard to the Trump/Kushner Plan (which, again, I don't place much hope in) - getting sidelined by the Trump administration is quite a diplomatic feat. I mean, after all, we're talking about the same administration who gets bashed on regular basis for it's lack of diplomatic acumen. It is possible that when details are made public, the plan would be collectively derided as irrelevant, and the Palestinian position vindicated - but so far, international reactions so far do not seem to be overly negative.

On the Gaza Strip efforts issue, both Abbas and the Hamas are about to find themselves in a problematic position. On what pretext does a leadership object to such international efforts? How does it market such objections to its own people?

As for the upcoming "Deal of the Century", doubt there will be much achieved or advanced. Can certainly see things getting even worse as a result. One example of such a negative scenario is Trump reacting to the PA rejection of "his offer", by cutting US funding and support (with limited sanctions applied), without which the PA is pretty much toast. No PA means either anarchy among the Palestinians or Israel needing to assume direct control again. Either way not a good scenario for anyone.

Similarly, the Gaza Strip thing might also develop into a mess. The PA bleating on about nefarious US intentions isn't a big deal. But for Hamas, the implementation of such efforts will imply both a loss of "sovereignty", and agreeing to several concessions going against declared policies. One "traditional" way of avoiding such diplomatic/political dilemmas is going for yet another military confrontation, thus replacing one crisis with another. To a point, there are already signs this is in the works.

pegman · June 26, 2018

42 minutes ago, Morch said:

@pegman

Gibberish would be an apt description of your comment. The same old off-the-cuff collection of irrelevant labels, slogans and references - without much in the way of on topic content.

Labeling countries as client-states doesn't make them less relevant to conflict resolution. And there's no shortage of past instances in which their willingness to engage was questionable. Considering the backdrop of Trump's Jerusalem move, this is all the more striking.

Unless you missed it, Kushner & Co. just finished a tour on which the outline (and possibly details) of the upcoming framework were presented. This included meetings with European, ME and UN leaders. Nobody refused to meet them, no major leaks, not much public display of objections. And to remind - this is after Trump's Jerusalem move, after Trump's many other international confrontations, and the Palestinians (well, Abbas's faction) calls to disregard the US plans.

Parallel to this, there are ongoing efforts to push forward several initiatives aimed at alleviating the economic and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. These too, involve both European and ME countries, and are largely envisaged as bypassing (when possible) both the PA and Hamas.

As for your assertion that "Fact is Abbas was weak but Trump is making him strong with Palestinians" - I have no idea where you got this from. While Palestinians may see the US (and especially the current administration) in a negative light, this doesn't really directly translate into support for Abbas. If anything, current events highlight how ineffectual his stance is. On top of this (and him being unpopular to begin with), his tough position and ongoing actions related to the Hamas and the Gaza Strip crisis aren't helping his support rating much either.

With regard to the Trump/Kushner Plan (which, again, I don't place much hope in) - getting sidelined by the Trump administration is quite a diplomatic feat. I mean, after all, we're talking about the same administration who gets bashed on regular basis for it's lack of diplomatic acumen. It is possible that when details are made public, the plan would be collectively derided as irrelevant, and the Palestinian position vindicated - but so far, international reactions so far do not seem to be overly negative.

On the Gaza Strip efforts issue, both Abbas and the Hamas are about to find themselves in a problematic position. On what pretext does a leadership object to such international efforts? How does it market such objections to its own people?

As for the upcoming "Deal of the Century", doubt there will be much achieved or advanced. Can certainly see things getting even worse as a result. One example of such a negative scenario is Trump reacting to the PA rejection of "his offer", by cutting US funding and support (with limited sanctions applied), without which the PA is pretty much toast. No PA means either anarchy among the Palestinians or Israel needing to assume direct control again. Either way not a good scenario for anyone.

Similarly, the Gaza Strip thing might also develop into a mess. The PA bleating on about nefarious US intentions isn't a big deal. But for Hamas, the implementation of such efforts will imply both a loss of "sovereignty", and agreeing to several concessions going against declared policies. One "traditional" way of avoiding such diplomatic/political dilemmas is going for yet another military confrontation, thus replacing one crisis with another. To a point, there are already signs this is in the works.

Well, somehow you have figured out how to talk out of 3 sides of your mouth. Amazing. Here is a legit publication where you can start to get less tainted views of the situation.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/25/kushners-peace-plan-is-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-israel-palestine-trump/

Morch · June 26, 2018

@pegman

Your unnecessary personal comments read more like frustration at not being able to make a coherent argument. As for the article linked - do tell how it significantly differs from my take on things?

There is nothing in my posts suggesting support for the upcoming Trump/Kushner proposal, or amounting to an assertion something positive will come out of it. Highlighting the Palestinian leaderships' failures to diplomatically address these issues, doesn't imply support for the Trump/Kushner proposal.

sirineou · June 26, 2018

On 6/24/2018 at 10:00 PM, webfact said:

Trump adviser Kushner criticises Abbas, says U.S. peace plan near

I thought the US had pretty good relations with Israel, why would they need a peace plan?

buick · June 26, 2018

i can't wait to see this plan. i'm sure it will be rejected by the palestinians (perhaps for legitimate reasons). and then i wonder, what country will be chosen as the new 'broker of peace' ? similar to a thread not too long ago where many were calling for a UN force to be deployed to stop the senseless killings of 'innocent' people. not a long list of countries signing up for that one either.

pegman · June 27, 2018

On June 26, 2018 at 3:10 AM, sirineou said:

I thought the US had pretty good relations with Israel, why would they need a peace plan?

If you mean like master/servant I couldn't agree more. Bibi says jump & the yanks ask how high.

Scott · June 28, 2018

Off-topic post and replies removed.

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