Kushner reportedly plans Middle East trip to build on Israel-UAE deal

President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is apparently heading to the Middle East next month in an attempt to keep momentum going after the U.S. helped broker a deal that normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Axios reports.

Kushner, along with White House envoy Avi Berkowitz, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, and the State Department's Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook, is expected to make stops in Israel and several Gulf states, per Axios. The goal of the trip is to scope out the early days of the Israel-UAE deal and congratulate the countries' leaders, but he will also reportedly attempt to encourage other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman, to strike similar agreements with Israel. U.S. officials have targeted those three countries as possibly being open to establishing diplomatic ties with Israel.

President Trump has specifically said he expects Saudi Arabia to follow the UAE, but Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that won't be possible until Israel achieves peace with Palestine. Read more at Axios.

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