Kushner kicks off push for peace in Middle East

His first solo visit is seen as start of a long process

JERUSALEM — President Donald Trump’s sonin-law and chief Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner, made his first solo visit to the region Wednesday, holding separate meetings with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an attempt to restart long-dormant peace talks.

Sitting down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kushner and other U.S. officials discussed “potential next steps” to make progress on Trump’s goal of “a genuine and lasting peace” between Israelis and Palestinians, the White House said. The meetings are aimed at laying the groundwork for a resumption of negotiations for the first time in three years.

History with Netanyahu

“The United States officials and Israeli leadership underscored that forging peace will take time and stressed the importance of doing everything possible to create an environment conducive to peacemaking,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

Kushner, whose family has a long relationship with Netanyahu, met with the Israeli leader in Jerusalem for about 3½ hours before heading to the West Bank city of Ramallah for a late-night meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Reporters were barred from covering the meetings.

The Trump administration faces the same obstacles that have doomed previous attempts by a string of Republican and Democratic administrations: deep disagreements over key issues such as borders, dueling claims to Jerusalem and the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

But Kushner enjoys some advantages that could allow him to make at least some progress. Trump made a successful visit to the region last month and appears to have forged a good working relationship with both sides.

The new atmosphere of goodwill, along with concerns of potentially provoking the unpredictable president, could give Trump leverage in extracting concessions from the sides.

Trump has tasked Kushner with the ambitious goal of laying the groundwork for what he calls the “ultimate deal” — but deep divisions remain, clouding chances of a significant breakthrough in one of the longest Mideast crises.

This month marked the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Mideast war — a seminal event in which Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Land dispute remains

The Palestinians claim these territories for their future independent state. Netanyahu opposes a return to the 1967 lines and also rejects any division of Jerusalem. The eastern part of the city, which the Palestinians claim as their capital, is home to sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites.

The White House appeared to play down expectations for a breakthrough ahead of the visit, saying that “forging a historic peace agreement will take time” and that Kushner and U.S. envoy Jason Greenblatt will likely make “many visits” to the region.

For now, the United States is expected to pressure each side to make goodwill gestures in hopes of improving the climate.