Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Washington’s delegation to the Middle East, declared Jerusalem’s dedication and hope to advance peace, stability and security in the region, as well as advancing a viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu said, “I am very pleased to see you again Jared, with your delegation. We have a lot of things to talk about, how to advance peace, stability and security in our region, prosperity too. And I think all of them are within our reach. So, I am happy to see you, and the effort that you are leading on behalf of the president with Jason and the members of your team. I think this is a sign of the great alliance between us and the great goals that guide us,” the Israeli leader declared.
US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law who heads the delegation, Jared Kushner, said that Washington appreciates Israel’s commitment to peace, while emphasized that President Trump remains “very committed” to peace, amid clear skepticism in both Jerusalem and Ramallah with regard to the United States’ resolve in bringing about a viable solution to the conflict. Kushner said, “We are very appreciative to your team and all the efforts that they have made. The president is very committed to achieving a solution here that will be able to bring prosperity and peace to all people in this area. And we really appreciate the commitment of the Prime Minister and his team to engaging very thoughtfully and respectfully in the way that the president has asked him to do so. So, the relationship between Israel and America is stronger than ever and we really thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for his leadership and his partnership.”
Following a closed-door meeting between the Israeli leader and American delegation, the latter travelled to the West Bank city of Ramallah, where they were welcomed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who said that the Palestinians would work with the representatives of the US administration in order to attain a peace agreement forthwith, while noting that he knows the issues are difficult and complicated, but emphasized that nothing is impossible when there are efforts being made in good faith. President Abbas said, “President Trump sends to President Abbas his best regards and his great hope. He dispatched us from Washington to talk today about a topic that is very important to him, which is peaceful relations between the countries and the whole region and he is very optimistic and hopeful for a better future for all Palestinian people and all Israeli people hopefully they will be able to work together and live together for many years and have much better lives, so President Trump is very hopeful and very appreciative of all the efforts that you have made today and appreciative of the discussions and the relationship, so thank you.”
Jared Kushner told the Palestinian President that President Trump remains very optimistic and hopes for a better future for both the Israeli and Palestinian people, while emphasizing that Washington appreciates the Palestinian leadership for its efforts in moving the aspired process forward.
In the course of the next few days, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres will also join the efforts to revive the peace process. The Secretary General is scheduled to travel to Kuwait tomorrow and will arrive in Israel on Sunday night. He will be in Israel until Wednesday and will meet with officials including Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.