Speed Reads

Israel-Palestine

Jared Kushner is finally almost ready to achieve peace in the Middle East

The Trump administration is putting the final touches on its plan to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, will travel to the Middle East next week with international negotiations representative Jason Greenblatt, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The trip to Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia will be an opportunity to discuss "the next stages of the peace efforts" in the region, the White House said, and to finalize a plan that will reportedly be released in August. Kushner and Greenblatt will not visit any Palestinian cities, reports AP, in part because Palestinian leaders are boycotting talks with U.S. officials over accusations of bias.

Greenblatt, the former executive vice president of the Trump Organization, publicly clashed with Palestine's chief negotiator this week, publishing an op-ed in an Israeli newspaper to condemn his "false claims" and accuse him of making a potential peace agreement more difficult.

Kushner, for his part, was a prominently visible figure in the controversial embassy-opening ceremony in Jerusalem last month, where the U.S. unveiled the new facility while protests raged along the Gaza Strip. Nearly 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire, as demonstrators protested the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem, which both Israelis and Palestinians claim, as the capital of Israel. Read more at The Associated Press.