Palestinians blast Kushner, accuse him of ‘incitement’

Following Jared Kushner’s high-level meetings in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, the PA Ministry of Information accused the Trump senior adviser of inciting the Palestinians against their leadership and “promoting normalization” between Arabs and Israel.

By: World Israel News Staff

On Sunday, Palestinian officials issued a blunt reproach to US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner, in connection with statements he made in an interview with the Palestinian Al-Quds newspaper.

Palestinian officials accused Kushner of “inciting” the Palestinian people against PA President Mahmoud Abbas based on Kushner’s recommendations in the Al-Quds interview.

Specifically, Kushner recommended to the Palestinian people, “Show your leadership that you are supporting efforts to achieve peace, let them know your priorities and give them the courage to maintain an open mind. My dream is that both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples should be the closest allies in the fight against terrorism, economic achievement, progress in science and technology.”

Based on this statement other portions of the Al-Quds interview, the PA Ministry of Information reiterated its claim that “Washington is not an honest or acceptable mediator,” reported the Jerusalem Post.

Palestinian officials based their conclusions related to Kushner on his decision to appeal directly to the Palestinian people via an interview in a leading daily, as opposed to operating through diplomatic channels or meeting with Abbas or senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, which would have been impossible in light of the Palestinians’ refusal to meet with Kushner or US Mideast envoy Jason Greenblat, consistent with the PA’s months-long boycott of the Trump administration.

The Al-Quds feature represented Kushner’s first interview with a Palestinian newspaper. He used the opportunity to communicate that Washington remained open to negotiating with Abbas, but would move forward with the Trump “deal-of-the-century” peace plan regardless of Abbas’ willingness to return to negotiations.

“If President Abbas is willing to come back to the table, we are ready to engage; if he is not, we will likely air the plan publicly,” Kushner claimed in the interview, reported the Post. “However, I do question how much President Abbas has the ability to, or is willing to, lean into finishing a deal. He has his talking points which have not changed in the last 25 years.”

While Kushner was roundly criticized by PA and PLO officials, former PA information minister and current senior Fatah party official Nabil Amru told the Palestinian Sama news agency, “No one knows why the Palestinian leadership [cut ties with the Trump administration completely] because the situation remains unclear until now,” reported the Post.

Amru also expressed doubt with regard to the PA leadership’s ability to withstand potential sanctions imposed by the US should the Palestinians reject the Trump peace plan out of hand.