Trump’s Middle East envoy, UN ambassador on way to Israel

Greenblatt and Haley are on their way to Israel in the wake of Trump’s visit to the Jewish state.

Just two days after President Donald Trump concluded his historic visit to the Jewish state, his special representative for international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt, is expected to arrive in Israel Thursday in an effort to restart the diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians.

Similarly, US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley will arrive on a three-day visit to Israel in early June, accompanied by her Israeli counterpart, Danny Danon.

Haley, on her first-ever trip to Israel, is expected to meet with President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She is also scheduled to visit Jerusalem’s Western Wall and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, as well as going to the southern and northern borders by helicopter to gain an understanding of the security situation.

Haley is also expected to visit the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s Ynet news reported Wednesday.

While in Israel, Trump emphasized that he believed the time was ripe for peace and urged Israel and the Palestinians to seize the moment.

On Whose Side is Kushner?

Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who also serves as his adviser, was also in Israel this week as part of the Trump entourage.

One senior administration official told Reuters that Kushner is treading carefully to avoid stepping into “the same traps” that have undermined previous efforts towards peace. “He’s a good listener and he’s trying to learn as much as he can,” the official said.

Nevertheless, Israeli officials are skeptical.

“In the beginning it looked like Kushner really admired [Israeli ambassador to the US Ron] Dermer, really hung on his every word. That created the sense that it was all going to be good: Jared’s young, he’s Jewish, he likes us, he understands us, it’s going to be easy,” one person close to the prime minister’s office told Reuters.

“But as time has gone by, that impression has changed somewhat. Now people are not so convinced they were right. Jared is his own man,” he said.

Yet many Palestinians doubt that an individual with such close ties to Israel could ever be evenhanded.

By: World Israel News Staff