Jared Kushner to visit Middle East

Washington, June 19 (IANS) US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner is travelling to the Middle East this week in pursuit of a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians, a White House official has confirmed.

Kushner will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu in Jerusalem and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah as a Trump envoy, along with Jason Greenblatt, an assistant to the President and special representative for international negotiations, the official told The Washington Post on Sunday night.

The visit comes a month after Trump’s maiden trip to the region, during which he met with Israeli and Palestinian officials and committed to working to bring both sides together in a lasting peace agreement.

Greenblatt is scheduled to arrive in the Middle East on Monday, while Kushner will reach on Wednesday, according to the White House official, who detailed the trip on the condition of anonymity.

Kushner and Greenblatt are hoping to "continue conversations" with both sides but noting that an accord almost certainly would require ongoing discussions.

"It is important to remember that forging a historic peace agreement will take time and to the extent that there is progress, there are likely to be many visits by both Kushner and Greenblatt, sometimes together and sometimes separately, to the region and possibly many trips by Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to Washington, D.C.," the official told The Washington Post.