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Kushner: Both sides will need to compromise in Mideast deal

Kushner’s statement about compromise is in line with other American officials over the past year, including President Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Jared Kushner, senior aide to U.S. President Donald Trump, said Thursday that the administration’s peace plan calls for compromise from both Israel and the Palestinians.

Kushner was speaking at a closed session of a two-day conference in Poland on issues of Middle East security that is being attended by representatives of dozens of nations. Participants include several Arab countries as well as Israel, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the only head of government present.

The Palestinians refused to attend, with chief negotiator Saeb Erekat charging that the Warsaw conference is a “plot against the Palestinian cause.”

The Americans have said that the plan is close to completion. It likely will not be presented until after the upcoming Israeli election in April.

Kushner’s statement about compromise is in line with other American officials over the past year, including the president and Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Although officials have repeatedly pointed out that the plan is merely the basis for the beginning of negotiations, the Palestinians have already publicly rejected it.

Ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, co-leaders of the New Right party, responding to rumors about the plan, stated that they will not sit in a government that would agree to negotiate dividing Jerusalem.

The Warsaw conference will address a wide range of security problems, including the Syrian conflict, Yemen, terrorism and refugees. Also on the list of items to be discussed is Iran’s threat to the region, which, Netanyahu has stated, is on the Israeli leader’s main agenda.