Jared Kushner and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Jerusalem June 22 2018 . (photo credit: GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump Jared Kushner and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt in Jerusalem on Friday.
Greenblatt and Kushner are expected to present the Prime Minister with details of the American-sponsored peace plan which aims to re-start a negotiation process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
King Abdullah II of Jordan met with Kushner and Greenblatt on Wednesday and stressed the importance of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Abdullah said the “US has an important role” in any such future talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and that, in his view, the Palestinian state must include a section of Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital.
The king also met Prime Minister Netanyahu in a surprise meeting in Amman on Monday and explained again the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims and Christians, emphasizing that the only path to peace and stability in the region is a two-state solution.
Greenblatt and Kushner are also expected to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip during their meeting with Netanyahu.
An unnamed American official told Channel 10 News that “so far nobody has any clear concept on how to solve the Gaza [humanitarian] crises and we wish to talk about it with the Israelis and other regional countries.”
A day before arriving in Israel for talks, Greenblatt wrote a blistering Twitter post against Hamas – translated into Arabic and Hebrew – asking how the world can help when “murderous Hamas leaders continue to squander the resources of Gaza.”
Hamas continues to fail the Palestinians of Gaza – arson kites & balloons & many mortar & rocket attacks directed against Israelis. How can the international community help when murderous Hamas leaders continue to squander the resources of Gaza? The people deserve better.
— Jason D. Greenblatt (@jdgreenblatt45) June 21, 2018
Writing that Hamas continues to “fail the Palestinians of Gaza” through arson kites, incendiary balloons and mortar and rocket attacks directed at Israel, Greenblatt said, “The people deserve better.”
He also criticized the Palestinian Authority, which is refusing to meet with him and Kushner during their visit.
The blueprint for a Middle East peace deal is also expected to be discussed when Abdullah meets Trump next week in Washington for a visit announced Thursday by the White House. The two leaders, the statement said, “will discuss issues of mutual concern, including terrorism, the threat from Iran and the crisis in Syria, and working towards a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Herb Keinon contributed to this report.
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