(February 27, 2019 / JNS) White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is on a trip to the Middle East this week with stops in includes the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia to promote the Trump administration’s upcoming peace plan regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The White House publicly released no details of the economic component, but analysts who have followed its development said that they had been told it would involve investing around $25 billion in the West Bank and Gaza over 10 years and another $40 billion in Egypt, Jordan and perhaps Lebanon, depending on their performance meeting certain goals,” reported The New York Times. “Others who have spoken with Mr. Kushner disputed those specific figures, but agreed that it would involve tens of billions of dollars to those parts of the region.”
In an interview with Sky News Arabia on Monday, Kushner, also President Trump’s son-in-law, said the highly anticipated peace proposal will be about “drawing the borders” between the Israelis and the Palestinians, in addition to resolving fundamental issues surrounding the 70-plus-year tension.
“What we have been trying to do is to formulate realistic and just solutions to these issues in 2019 that will allow people to live a better life,” said Kushner, also U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law who, along with special envoy Jason Greenblatt and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, has been negotiating since Trump took office in 2017.
“Our focus was on four principles: the first is freedom, where we want people to enjoy freedom, freedom of opportunity, religion and worship, regardless of their beliefs, as well as respect,” added Kushner.
The Trump administration announced the peace plan will be released after the Israeli elections.
JNS previously reported, citing an informed source hearing from top Trump administration officials, that the so-called “deal of the century” will consist of the United States recognizing a Palestinian state with contingencies; its capital would consist of remote parts of eastern Jerusalem. It will also include official U.S. recognition of large Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, according to the source, who did not know which ones.