In a rare public appearance earlier today, President Trump’s son-in-law and key adviser Jared Kushner said it is Trump’s belief that peace in the Middle East was the only way to root out Iranian aggression and Islamist extremism.
Speaking at the Brookings Institution’s Saban Forum to a group of Middle East experts, Kushner said:
“If we’re going to try to create more stability in the region as a whole, you have to solve this issue. (the President) sees this as something that has to be solved.”
However, almost twelve months into naming Kushner as a pivotal person in making “the ultimate deal” in the Middle East, Trump has shown no public signs that any progress has been made.
Moreover, there are mounting concerns that Trump could, on Dec. 4, officially announce the embassy’s move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a de facto recognition of Israel’s dominion over Jerusalem.
In Israel, there are strong opinions that any move to create a Palestinian state, in any form, could effectively “bring down the government” of Israel, as stated by a senior Israeli official.
On the opposing side, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary General Saeb Erekat said that if the United States takes sides on such a key element, it “will also be disqualifying itself to play any role in an initiative towards achieving a just and lasting peace.”
If President Trump announces the moving of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem today – this day being the deadline for either a move announcement or a six-month waiver – it “could be potentially exploited by terrorists to stoke anger, frustration and desperation in order to spread their ideologies,” said Jordan’s King Abdullah II, considered by Kushner’s team to be a key partner in the region’s peace discussions.
For the past two decades since a 1995 legislation was passed, every President of the United States has kept signing the six-month waiver whenever a decision was due. Trump did it earlier this year, and if he doesn’t do it again later today things could start breaking down in the region, as indicated by officials in the region.
+++ + +++
