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Kushner: We were trying to save two-state solution, but we’re not chasing Palestinians

Senior advisor says the Trump peace plan was created to ‘save’ the two-state solution, but it’s now up to the Palestinians.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

President Trump’s senior advisor Jared Kushner said Wednesday that the Trump peace plan is still on the table and the U.S. administration wants to pursue it, but America is not going to chase the Palestinians if they are unwilling to come to the table.

“We’ve chosen not to chase them, but the moment that they’re ready to engage, we believe that we have the ability to make a peace deal between them and Israel,” Kushner said in a phone call with journalists.

“We were trying to save the two-state solution,” Kushner said. “If we kept going with the status quo … ultimately, Israel would have eaten up all the land in the West Bank.”

Having recently returned from the region, Kushner pointed to the results achieved there and noted that the meeting of the Arab League chose to reject a call by the Palestinian Authority to condemn the new peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates that is due to be signed at the White House next week.

“What we’re seeing now in the Middle East is that the tide is really changing and countries are doing now what’s in their best interests,” Kushner said. “Countries support the Palestinians, America supports the Palestinians, but people want to see a resolution that’s a fair and proper resolution, and they’re not going to hold back their own progress.”

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The Palestinians were furious over Israel’s plans to apply sovereignty to settlements in Judea and Samaria, but those plans were put on indefinite hold as a result of the Israel-UAE agreement. UAE officials said that ending the sovereignty plans was part of the peace deal and urged the Palestinians to reengage.

President Trump will host the leaders of Israel and the UAE September 15 at the White House for the historic ceremony where the Emirates will become the third Arab nation after Egypt and Jordan to establish diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.