Kushner: Trump ‘Very Fond’ of Palestinian President Abbas

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and US President Donald Trump. (Photo: Issam Rimawi via MEMO)

White House adviser Jared Kushner said on Wednesday the United States is willing to engage with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but hinted a new peace plan might call on Palestinian refugees to settle where they are and not return to lands now in Israel, Reuters reports.

At a workshop in Bahrain last week, Kushner unveiled a $50 billion economic plan for the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. On Wednesday, he said he would have more to say about the way forward on the economic plan “probably next week.”

Sometime later this year, he is to outline a 50- to 60-page page plan that will offer proposals on resolving the thorny political issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Palestinians have harshly criticized the economic plan.

In a conference call with reporters, Kushner said US President Donald Trump is “very fond” of Abbas and willing to engage with him at the right time.

Kushner said:

“Our door is always open to the Palestinian leadership.”

He said he believes Abbas wants peace but “certain people around him are very uncomfortable with the way we’ve approached this, and their natural reaction is to attack and say crazy things” that are not constructive.

(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)

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