Kushner Arrives in Israel: Can He Revive Stalled Mideast Peace Talks?

JERUSALEM, Israel – Senior White House advisor Jared Kushner arrives in Israel Wednesday for meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The visit is the latest attempt to forge a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.

"Listening and learning" from Israelis and Palestinians, that's what Israel's defense minister says the Trump administration is doing.

"They're proceeding cautiously, as should be, listening to all parties in the region trying to find out what's realistic as opposed to the top-down tactics of the Obama administration, which sought to impose a pre-conceived notion on Israel in particular and on the Palestinians as well," Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.
 
Trump's recent Middle East visit shows he wants to include Middle East Sunni nations in a regional peace plan. Yet it might have limitations.

"Clearly the atmospherics in the region have improved and the Israelis and the Saudis in particular have a common enemy in Iran. Is that going to play into Palestinian Israeli negotiations in the way many people are hoping, I'm not sure," author David Weinberg told CBN News.

"The Obama administration took to hectoring Israel all the time, berating Israel," he explained. "Trump has taken a different approach: work with Israel, see what's realistic – and trying to give the Palestinians a dose of reality as well."
 
Part of that reality included reports President Trump shouted at Abbas in their recent meeting in Bethlehem. The president reportedly accused the P.A. leader of lying to him at the White House when he said the Palestinians are raising their children to live in peace with Israel, while official Palestinian media shows just the opposite.

A White House official cautioned an historic peace agreement would take time so expect many more visits here in Israel by Middle East negotiators Kushner and Greenblatt.