In a renewed attempted to restart the long-stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, the White House announced that President Donald Trump’s senior advisor, Jared Kushner, chief negotiator Jason Greenblatt and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell will travel to the Middle East in the near future to meet with regional leaders, as part of Washington’s regional approach, aimed at resolving the decades-old conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a cabinet meeting, said he looks forward to welcoming the American delegation, while hinting to Jerusalem’s readiness to trust building measures that would provide the US-backed efforts with much needed tail-wind.
With trust between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships at an all-time low, Washington seeks to involve regional partners in applying pressure on both sides, as well as providing significant incentives, in bring about a much-desired solution. That is why, apart from the anticipated meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders; the American delegation has scheduled meetings with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt, with a US Administration official stating “aims to discuss the path to substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.” The official reiterated, however, that “While the regional talks will play an important role, the president reaffirms that peace between Israelis and Palestinians can only be negotiated directly between the two parties and that the United States will continue working closely with the parties to make progress toward that goal.” The official further stated that President Donald Trump “believes that the restoration of calm and the stabilized situation in Jerusalem after the recent crisis on the Temple Mount-Haram al Sharif has created an opportunity to continue discussions and the pursuit of peace that began early in his administration.”