TEL AVIV – President Donald Trump is committed to reaching a serious peace deal, Palestinian media quoted Trump’s top advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner saying following a late night meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday.
The White House said in a statement that during the meeting, which was also attended by Trump’s peace envoy Jason Greenblatt, both Abbas and Kushner “underscored that forging peace will take time and stressed the importance of doing everything possible to create an environment conducive to peacemaking” between Israel and the Palestinians.
A senior advisor to Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdineh, said Kushner addressed many of the more difficult challenges to restarting the peace talks.
“The meeting has deeply and clearly discussed all the permanent status issues, mainly refugees and prisoners,” Abu Rdineh said, according to official PA media.
“The President renewed his commitment to achieving a just and comprehensive peace based on international legitimacy and the Arab peace initiative,” Abu Rdineh added.
Earlier in the day, Kushner met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed “Israel’s priorities and potential next steps … acknowledging the critical role Israel plays in the security of the region,” according to a statement released later by the White House.