Trump is willing to engage on Mideast peace plan -Kushner

Trump is willing to engage on Mideast peace plan -Kushner
Trump is willing to engage on Mideast peace plan -Kushner

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump is fond of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and willing to engage with him, but Abbas was cool to the gesture.

In a conferencecall with reporters, Kushner said, "Our door is always open" to thePalestinians.

The Palestinianshave refused to talk to Kushner and other architects of a U.S. peace initiativeunveiled at a Bahrain workshop last week. Kushner at the Manama conferenceoutlined a $50 billion economic revival plan for the Palestinian territories,Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon that is dependent on Israel and the Palestiniansreaching a political settlement to their decades-old conflict.

Trump's proposalsto settling the thorny political issues remain secret and are to be releasedlater this year. There are doubts among Palestinians as to whether his planwill include the long-standing goal of a "two-state solution" –Israel and Palestine existing side by side in peace.

"PresidentTrump is very fond of President Abbas," Kushner, who is Trump'sson-in-law, said. "He likes him very much personally. And at the righttime if they're willing to engage I believe that they'll find that they'll havean opportunity. Whether they will be willing to take that opportunity will beup to them."

Abbas, asked aboutKushner's remarks in Ramallah, said he would resume dialogue with the United Statesshould the latter assert its recognition of the two-state solution and theright of Palestinian refugees to return.

"You want adialogue? If yes, then you need to recognize the two-state solution and thateast Jerusalem is occupied and that the international legitimacy is the groundfor any dialogue," Abbas said during an event at his Ramallah office inthe Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"Send me thosewords on a piece of paper and the next day I will show up at the White House.Otherwise, no," he said. "Therefore, we are not closing doors withthe United States, we are keeping the door narrowly open. If they like it, theyare welcome," he added.

In comments likelyto raise concerns among Palestinians, Kushner hinted that his peace plan mightcall on Palestinian refugees to settle where they are and not return to landsnow in Israel.

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