Jared Kushner meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The 31-year-old prince has been variously described as the ‘most dangerous man in the world’ - an epithet also awarded to Mr Kushner’s boss and father-in-law, Donald Trump
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Your support makes all the difference.US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner has met with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in an effort to restart peace talks in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mr Kushner, who as Mr Trump’s senior presidential advisor is in charge of the administration’s efforts to broker a lasting Middle East peace deal, flew to Jeddah on Tuesday, where he held meetings with Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s newly-minted crown prince and defence minister, the Saudi state news agency said.
Negotiator Jason Greenblatt and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell also met with Prince bin Salman in Jeddah to discuss a “path to substantive path to substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks“, a White House official said.
The US visit is part of a regional tour which will also see Mr Kushner meet with leaders from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar - the last of which has been the subject of a diplomatic and trade boycott by other Arab states for almost three months.
The talks were aimed at achieving stability in the “wider Middle East and beyond,” Saudi state news agency SPA also said. Kuwaiti and US-led mediation efforts in the spat have so far failed.
31-year-old Prince bin Salman - the architect of Saudi’s involvement in Yemen’s devastating war known for his quick temper - has been variously described as the “most dangerous man in the world” - an epithet also awarded to Donald Trump.
Mr Trump is widely viewed in Israel and the wider Middle East as far more sympathetic to Israeli interests than his predecessor Barack Obama.
Despite his pro-Israeli campaign trail rhetoric, since entering the White House Mr Trump has caught some Israeli hard-liners off guard with the suggestion the government should “hold back” on settlement building in the West Bank, and his administration has equivocated over whether the US embassy will move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as promised.
He has, however, repeatedly emphasised his sincere desire to broker a peace deal in the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mr Kushner’s family - who count Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a family friend- has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the international community views as illegal.
Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas is frustrated with Washington’s efforts to broker peace, however, reportedly telling left-wing Israeli lawmakers he has met with Trump envoys more than 20 times since the beginning of the president’s term, which is “in chaos".
News agencies contributed to this report
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